What better time than returning from a trip to Montréal and Ottawa to put together a collection of Canadian slang?
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Everyday Canadian Slang
Canuck
A Canadian.
Eh
Classic Canadian slang, a tag at the end of a sentence, used to confirm or seek agreement.
“Nice day, eh?”
Loonie
A Canadian one-dollar coin (because it has a loon on it).
Toonie
The two-dollar coin, worth two loonies. A casual fundraising raffle where people toss coins can be called a “toonie toss”.
Darts
Cigarettes.
“Hey, wanna go kill a dart outside?”
Give’r!
An encouragement to give maximum effort, along the lines of “go for it!”
A deke, to deke
From the word “decoy”. Means to fake out or trick an opponent, especially in hockey but also in other situations. There is an element of praise associated with this word, so the move made is probably going to be clever or smart.
“He deked the goalie.”
Snowbird
People from the colder northern parts of Canada who “migrate” to warmer locations during the winter.
“I’m a snowbird – I spent winters in Florida where it’s nice and warm!”
Puck bunny
A young female ice hockey fan whose interest is probably more motivated by the prospect of dating a player than the sport itself.
F*cking the dog
To work very slowly.
That’s great!
Beauty
High praise; something good or very well done, especially in sports.
“Oh, that goal was a beauty!”
Skookum
Mainly in Western Canada (B.C., Yukon). Comes from Chinook jargon and means something big, strong, powerful, or impressive. Can also have connotations of reliability or good-heartedness.
To get all minky (about sth.)
To get excited about sth.
That’s…not so great
Gong show
A chaotic or out-of-control situation; something which started off as fun but then went very wrong. Comes from The Gong Show, an amateur TV talent show in the 1970s where bad performers would be forced to stop by a gong being struck.
Hoser
A person considered unintelligent or uncouth – Canada’s answer to “redneck”.
Don’t cheese me
Shortened from “don’t cheese me off”, meaning “don’t annoy me” or “don’t get on my nerves”.
Keener
Someone who’s eager, overly enthusiastic or a suck-up.
“She’s such a keener, always first to answer in class.”
Canadian slang – food & drink
Poutine
A Québec classic – fries topped with cheese curds and gravy. Yes, I tried it and no, I didn’t like it at all!
Pop
I was quite gratified to see “pop” sold in the supermarkets in Canada. As a speaker of British English, I know this word from my parents and my grandparents who used it routinely to describe what are now more commonly called soft drinks. In America, they’d call these beverages sodas.
“Do you want a pop with your burger?”
Dep
Short for “dépanneur” – a Québec term for a convenience store.
Nanaimo bar
A no-bake dessert named after Nanaimo, BC. It has a coconut and Graham cracker base, topped with a layer of custard and topped with chocolate.
Two-four
A case of 24 beers. Don’t forget to take a two-four to the party on Saturday!
Freezie
An ice pop or popsicle.
Mickey
A small 375ml bottle of booze.
Molson muscle
Molson is a well-known Canadian brewery – the oldest in North America, no less! A Molson muscle is what happens when you imbibe too much of their products: it’s a beer gut.
Tim Horton’s
The Canadian coffee chain Tim Horton’s is so omnipresent and so popular, it warrants a whole slang subsection all for itself.
Timmies
Tim Hortons, Canada’s beloved coffee chain.
Coffee Row
Also a name for Tim Horton’s, apparently due to the high number of nerds who hang out there with their laptops, discussing politics.
“Hey, the word from Coffee Row is…”
Double-double
A coffee with two creams and two sugars – mostly obtained from Tim Horton’s.
“I’ll grab a double-double on the way to work.”
Timbit
Bitesize doughnut balls from Tim Horton’s.
Canadian slang – your wardrobe
Toque / Tuque
A knitted winter hat – what Americans call a beanie.
Runners
Trainers/running shoes (UK), sneakers (US).
Gitch/gotch
A word common across the Prairies for men’s underwear/tighty-whities. Also called gotchies, gonch, ginch or gonchies. Comes from the Ukrainian word “gáchi”.
Bunnyhug
A Saskatchewan term for a hoodie.
A Canadian tuxedo
A denim jacket worn with a pair of jeans.
Canadian slang – around the house
Chesterfield
Possibly a little old-fashioned now, but in Canada, a Chesterfield is a couch or a sofa.
“I spent the weekend lying around on the Chesterfield in my gotchies”.
Eavestrough
What the British would call a “gutter” or “guttering”, although I think I might trade in my native expression for eavestrough, as it decribes the object so much better.
Washroom
The Canadian name for what Brits would – less charmingly – call the loo, the toilet, or the lavatory. Americans – like the Canadians – take the indirect route and call it the restroom or the bathroom.
Biffy
An outhouse.
A sturdy wooden outdoor chair like an Adirondack chair.
Canadians on the road
Clicks
Kilometres.
“The gas station is about 20 clicks down the road.”
Hang a Larry/Roger
If a Canadian tells you to “hang a Larry” or “hang a Roger”, they aren’t telling you to execute some men called Larry and Roger with a noose. No – they are simply telling you to turn left (Larry) or right (Roger).
Parkade
Apparently also common in South Africa. It’s a multistorey car park.
Put ‘er in the rhubarb
Esp. in Satkatchewan. Means to veer off course, drive off the road or skid into a ditch.
“There was some black ice on the road this morning – nearly put ‘er in the rhubarb!”
Canadians out on the town
Wheeling
To chat someone up in a smooth or romantic way.
“Oh, look at him wheelin’ at the bar!”
Out for a rip
Out for a good time.
To link up
Toronto slang meaning to meet up.
“Hey, how about linking up later today?”
Scoop me
Toronto slang for picking someone up.
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More articles for English language nerds:
Americanisms – from the sublime to the ridiculous. A British perspective.
What the British say and what they mean: a brief guide
Yorkshire words I still use after 19 years abroad
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Image credit: Andre Furtado on Unsplash