Talk:Glossary of Canadian English words/Archive 1
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[edit] Merge proposal
Hi everybody, we can either merge Canadian slang with List of words mainly used in Canadian English or else, since this page contains a slew of terms that are not slang at all, we can just relocate said terms to the other article, thus rendering the slang page... a slang page. What do you think? --JackLumber 20:58, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
- Agreed, but I believe the differences in usage should be flagged (e.g. colloquial, slang, pejorative, regional, etc). AND provided that the combined file doesn't get too big; else we'd probably just have to split it again.
The alternative is to be more vigilant about what goes in which article, and swiftly move any entry incorrectly inserted....but you just said that, didn't you? SigPig 04:34, 24 March 2006 (UTC)
- Agreed - And while we're at it, could we please consider whittling it down considerably. There are many words here that are not exclusive to, or even chiefly used in Canada. That's the trouble with articles in which references are replaced by local anecdote. One day I'm going to grab the bull by the horns and start excising things I heard regularly in the United States. As it stands, the article is a free-for-all. Fishhead64 00:48, 28 March 2006 (UTC)
- Agreed; and shouldn't parts of Canadian English be integrated here?Skookum1 07:49, 28 March 2006 (UTC)
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- OK guys, the new page will have 1) proper Canadian "English" words; 2) Canadian "French" loanwords; 3) Canadian slang. The title of the new page is yet to be determined; I guess it will be Canadian words (modeled... um, modelled, after Australian words; there is currently a debate on the names of articles that are lists of words, at Talk:List of words mainly used in British English; after that debate is over I will accomplish the merging myself.) JackLumber 21:03, 21 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Vancouver Island
Living on the westcoast, I have never heard of Vancouver Island refered to as "The Rock", all my life I have heard "The Island", which I think should be on the list as well.
- I've heard it in Victoria, but IIRC it was from the mouths of a transplanted Maritimer anyway. Never heard old-guard Victorians use it. Think it showed up in some newspaper columnist's writing at one point, but it never caught onSkookum1 19:08, 6 January 2006 (UTC)
[edit] -
Ensuite (en suite), hydro, and washroom are not slang nor exclusively Canadian. Pædia 13:52, 2004 Jun 4 (UTC)
Pop as a name for any soft drink. Is that Canadian/Toronto special?
- While not canadian specific, it's the standard word for such a thing, even on the east coast, whereas east-coast americans tend to use soda. Gamera2 01:58, 20 Jul 2004 (UTC)
- Should this be removed? Hindi slang was removed on the pretext of "Wikipedia is not a dictionary".
Although the terms "Hoser" and "Take off!" listed in this article are widely used in American television to mark someone as a Canadian, these terms, especially in combination, are dead in Canadian English. I have never heard or used either term spoken except on American television, or by Canadians attempting irony.
I can't comment on "Take off", but "Hoser" is definitely still used in the Ottawa Valley.
Steggall 22:27, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)
- yeah, "hoser" is alive and well, not just around Ottawa Brinkost 07:05, 16 Dec 2004 (UTC)
The "Habs" thing about soup is entirely false, I believe. (UNSIGNED)
I know people in Ottawa and in Toronto that have always referred to a bar of candy as a "chocolate bar", even if it has no chocolate. That term is probably a holdover from Britain, so it may not be popular in all areas of Canada.
Steggall 17:06 30 Dec 2004 (UTC)
In British Columbia, everyone I've ever met refers to "candy bars" as chocolate bars. It is assumed that anyone who says "candy bars" is speaking American. It can also be noted that granola bars aren't refered to as chocolate bars, even the chocolate covered ones. I guess the added granola makes granola bars special.
(UNSIGNED)
[edit] chocolate bars
yeah right everyone in canada calls "candy bars" chocolate bars! trust i say it all the time! and 2-4 this one makes me laugh well have a gooder eh!
Is the above sarcasm? I am from Southern Ontario (near Toronto) and have never heard anyone refer to a candy bar as a chocolate bar unless it has chocolate in it. Daev 00:36, 8 May 2005 (UTC)
Albtertan here - candy bar is clearly american. Everyone knows it's a chocolate bar.
I live near Toronto. As far as I know, the term 'candy bar' is only used when referring to a rectangular sweet with no chocolate or nuts, which in itself is rather rare. Otherwise, everthing with even the slightest amount of chocolate in it is exclusively called a 'chocolate bar', unless it is a oat/granola bar. Kioku 21:37, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
I think he means that what we here in Canada call "chocolate bars", the Americans call "candy bars".
I live in Alberta also - the most common term here is "chocolate bar" and "candy bar" is considered archaic. Put it down to regional differences. I personally use "candy bar" but there tends to be a lot of friction because of it. All our problems should be so small, eh? It's like nothern Americans saying "pop" and the rest of the country saying "soda". Michael Dorosh 06:59, 15 February 2006 (UTC)
I'm from Nova Scotia. No "candy bars" here.
I'm from north of Toronto, never ever EVER say 'candy bar' -- it's a chocolate bar.
[edit] double double
re: Canadian slang??? Every street corner coffee vendor in New York knew what a double double was back in the 70's... these days, the term seems to have fallen out of popular use -- probably a starbucks influence -- who would buy a coffee from a street corner shop anyway!?!? Give me a latte -- no fat milk puh-lease!
- What? What you just said is slightly confusing. In any case, "double double" is still in wide use in Canada today, and since you say America no longer uses it, I think the word fits in here. New England and Canadian accents / words share a bit in common as well. 24.76.141.132 01:18, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)
- Interesting point. Is "double-double" still slang? I say this not because it's in widespread use, but because it's in the Oxford Dictionary. Perhaps it should be removed from the list. Kareeser|Talk! 22:47, 21 December 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Skookum Chuck
I lived in Ontario for 30 years and now Manitoba for 20 years and I always order my coffee "double-double" If you talk to an Australian, they say "eh" a lot more than any Canadian ever will, I talk to some in chat all the time. Chinook is not slang it is the name of the pervailing winds from over the mountains.
- See Chinook wind
Bismark is a cream filled donut with either chocolate or maple icing on top and is not just in the prairies.
DDB from Manitoba
- Just to confirm what DDB says, a Bismarck (also known as a Boston Cream) is a custard or cream-filled donut with chocolate, maple, or white (not sure what it is exactly) icing on top. I've lived in Manitoba all my life and a "jelly-filled donut" (which is the given definition for "Bismarck" in this article) is referred to as a "jam-buster" (a search in Google indicates that this is largely a Manitoban term, and it may also be used in Ontario). Clayton Rumley 20:00, 16 June 2006 (UTC)
What about the word "skookum" (no idea of the spelling) which in BC means "good" or "big" and "chuck" for "salty body of water (small saltwater lake etc)"? I know of a lot of people who used those terms when I lived there.
- It's already on the Canadian English page under words from the Chinook Jargon in the vocabulary section; but I guess yeah it's so common it should be here on Canadian slang also; it and chuck/saltchuck. Skookumchuck (rapids) is usually one word, btw; and it's not a slang term, although it is a "word". Properly chuck simply means water, fluid, any lake/stream/the sea, but on the Coast it pretty much always means the saltwater. "That's skookum!" and "out on the (salt)chuck" are definitely BC slangisms, thoug, as also high muckamuck or high muckety-muck (which are current outside BC/the Northwest now, but had their origin here).Skookum1 17:08, 17 March 2006 (UTC)
[edit] "The Gap"
I'm reasonably sure that "the Gap" refers to the entirety of Saskatchewan, and not just Regina.
I was born and raised in Saskatchewan. Not once in those twenty-five years did I ever hear Regian or the province referred to as "the Gap." - Prairie Boy
- Never heard it either, not even from derisively-minded Albertans. I think it's an "invented slang" concocted by migrating Ontarians who can't deal with the wide open spaces (though to me Hwy 17 from Marathon to the Soo is far worse). To nearly any Canadian I know "The Gap" is that chain store, and nothing more than that; unless you're a Brit and might use "Mind the gap".Skookum1 17:19, 17 March 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Take Off; "Kap/The Kap" =
"Take off" was standard usage about twenty five years ago. Perhaps it has fallen out of use, but it was not invented by Moranis and Thomas in the Bob and Doug sketches.
I grew up close to Kapuskasing, and lived there briefly. I've never heard anyone call it "*The* Kap". People call it "Kap". ANON
[edit] K-town
for those in the west it refers Kelowna BC, for the east i guess its whats written in already.
- And only marginally; it might be current in the Okanagan but it's not used in the Lower Mainland; sounds like a transplanted Ontarianism anyway.Skookum1 17:10, 17 March 2006 (UTC)
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- For those not out west, it seems to refer to Kingston, Ontario. The press, board of trade, tourism folks etc use it all the time. SigPig 09:06, 18 March 2006 (UTC)
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- People in Kitchener, Ontario also consider themselves from "K-town".
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- Actually, I wouldn't be at all surprised that every K-named metropolis and hamlet from Kamloops to Kelligrews called themselves "K-Town". It's kind of like every football team, pro or college, who has a feline-themed team name (Tigers, Lions, Cougars, Terrible Tabbies, etc) gets called "the Cardiac Cats" if they have a few squeaker games. Once a nickname gets out there in the stratosphere, people who think it clever or kewl will glom onto it and use it whenever possible. SigPig 02:23, 30 March 2006 (UTC)
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[edit] Pepper
I`d be curious to know where "pepper" stems from as a term use to refer to francophone. Anyone ? --Marc pasquin 03:01, 29 July 2005 (UTC)
It probably evolved out of "Pepsi" or "Joe Pepsi". Quebecers have a strong preference for Pepsi over Coke.
Back about 10 years ago, when I was in highschool in Quebec, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were very popular amongst francophones. Anglo and allophones called francophones "Peppers" because of it.
- More proof of a lack of cultural history/identity in our schools; the term "peppers" for the French dates back to the 1930s and beyond; long before the Chili Peppers were even born. Sigh......Why does your generation think everything has to do with things that happened since you were born? Ever heard of history?Skookum1 17:17, 17 March 2006 (UTC)
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- Probably not, which is why they are doomed to repeat it...next semester...
- WRT the "Pepsi" pejorative, considering the term "pepper" predates the '30s, is it possible that the term "Pepsi" derived from "pepper", injfluenced by the drink, as opposed to originating from it? SigPig 08:15, 18 March 2006 (UTC)
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- Yeah, but the "pep" wasn't provided by pepper, but by cocaine......(as with its rival company's product). Nothing like a little zing with your sugar, huh?Skookum1 07:44, 30 March 2006 (UTC)
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- Oops, I wasn't very clear, was I? What I meant was: Perhaps the pejorative term Pepsi may have its roots in the use of the pejorative term pepper. It's possible it's just a coinkydink that that both terms start with pep--. But if anglos have been calling Quebecers peppers, it's possible that when the drink Pepsi came along they applied the name as a variation on the current insult.
- By the way, what exactly is the etymology of pepper in this sense? SigPig 13:00, 30 March 2006 (UTC)
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- I think that's reaching. From what I understand, the reason francophone Quebeckers were called pepsi or peppers because Quebec was Pepsi turf from early on (as in the 1900s-1910s) and Anglo Canada drank Coke. Sad but true. I drank orange-flavoured Canada Dry myself, but.... So the pejorative arose BECAUSE of their cola choice, and for no other reason; and that's what Quebeckers told me, in fact. They're certainly not known for cooking with chilis, are they? As for the etymology, Pepsi's is the same as pepper - pep, whatever its etymology is (and I can't be bothered going to OED Online to source that).Skookum1 20:49, 30 March 2006 (UTC)
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- Ye gods, for a former public speaker I'm having the dangdest time explaining myself. I thunked me English speak gooder! No, I didn't think pepper had anything to do with les piments (hence the question on etymology). I was just wondering which came first, pepper or pepsi (I misread your earlier post as 1830s as opposed to 1930s, which is why I thought pepsi may have derived from it. Ah, well. SigPig 07:25, 31 March 2006 (UTC)
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- The comment about chilis was entirely facetious; cf. the perils of text-only communication. Yeah, the 1930s....Skookum1 08:25, 31 March 2006 (UTC)
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[edit] Out west
K-town could only be Kelowna. P.G. is what people from Prince George call P.G. Kamloops is the loops. William's Lake is Willie's puddle.
For people living in those towns, when they say they are going to the coast they aren't going to the beach or Bella Coola or anywhere but Vancouver or one of it's suburbs. (Ex. Slurrey.)
When I asked a dentist in California if he was intending to yard my wisdom teeth out, he most certainly had no clue what I was talking about. You would think he would have guessed it out of context. That's what you get for coming from a logging town.
[edit] Sp'ed
I've heard this term all over Ontario, it's certainly not just confined to St. Catherine's Also pronounced "shped". The term originates from elementary and high school kids and is a contraction of special education or special ed'
People in my junior high school in Edmonton used the term in the late 90s, although I don't really know whether it was in use all over Edmonton. ANON
[edit] Schooner
A schooner, as in a pint (was it I forgot) of beer, I forgot what the equivalent term was for a glass. Ottawa valley usage at least. Pete.Hurd 05:48, 31 August 2005 (UTC)
- A schooner is larger than a pint around here (GTA). I think it is 2 pints (1 L/32 oz.) [1]. They have them at Boston Pizza. I don't know how standard that size is, I was looking it up in Google and they use "schooner" in Australia, but there the size varies territory to territory (province to province, state to state or whatever)[2]. --Ben 01:39, 9 December 2005 (UTC)
[edit] 519er
Why are people in the 519 area code referred to as country bumpkins? There's over 1.5 million in the 519 area. There's London, Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph, Windsor, Sarnia and Chatham which makes up the 1.5 million people right there, not to mention all the small towns.
I'm going to remove this reference unless anyone can give me some credible reason as to why people living in some the largest cities in Canada are "country bumpkins."
Slang terms don't have to make sense - if the term is used that way (and I've never heard it so used, in Toronto or Waterloo) then it belongs on the list. An encyclopedia is just descriptive WilyD 14:20, 2 November 2005 (UTC)
- But the word "bumpkin" isn't encyclopaedic at all. Perhaps a substitution could be made. Kareeser|Talk! 23:03, 21 December 2005 (UTC)
I've heard the term used but never to imply that people from the area code were country bumpkins. I've only seen it used to refer to the people of the area in contrast to the 905 area code and Toronto.
[edit] Canuck
I'm a long time resident of Vancouver and I've not heard of Canuck as a reference to someone from here. Is this a common usage east of here? If not, I'm inclined to delete that reference.Zedcaster 07:35, 17 December 2005 (UTC)
- It seems to be a common term used as a derogative by Americans, and used humourously by Canadians... at least, that is the case in the East (Toronto and such). Perhaps it isn't used in Vancouver? Kareeser|Talk! 22:49, 21 December 2005 (UTC)
Hmm... I think there is a bunch of guys who get together and play what passes for hockey in Vancouver who call themselves the Vancouver Canucks. Ground Zero | t 22:59, 21 December 2005 (UTC)
For the record it originally meant a French-Canadian, as also did the word "Canadian". Canuck retained that meaning up until after World War I FWIK; it became more widely used to mean non-French Canadians as a result of the propagandistic "Johnny Canuck" comicbook. Postscript: I've heard a distortion of it, Can-OOK, sort of, C'nook, which is not exactly insulting and also kind of archaic, also indicating an old-time version of Canuckdom (of whatever age). "Oh, so in other words, he's a C'nook, huh?" Hard to explain the context; it's a mock-hick, sort of stilted prononciation used in jest; alongside stuff like Chillicootin and Chillywack maybe. Skookum1 19:04, 6 January 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Canadian "slang"
A lot of this is entirely listcruft. I went through the list and I found an assload of ads. In my time at Wikipedia, this is the one article that easily reminds me of urbandictionary.
Yes, this is a rant, because this article is supposed to be on Canadian slang, not localised slang. In my opinion, that means words such as "Canuck", "Double-double", and "Loonie" -- words that are not used outside of this country. That's the outer limit of the words.
The outer limit of the words should NOT be the border of a city, township, or even a specific neighbourhood!
- Sorry, can't deal with it. Canada is such a big place, with so much variety, that it follows that there's going to be regional and specific-urban slangs, and the proof in the pudding is that despite Ontarian homogenization propaganda, there's no "standard Canadian slang" and these distinct urban slangs do exist and continue to flourish. Requiring that a term be used throughout the country means most of the words on the list don't survive; except for those that Ontarians presume are used by everybody else. This is my usual axe-grind about central Canadian assumptions, but you can't get away from regional slangs in Canada because of the sheer size of the place, and the geographic isolations. Which is why the Island and the Interior in BC have a slightly different "palette" of slang vocabulary than Lower Mainlanders do. Unless there's going to be regional slang pages, this is the page all that stuff should be onSkookum1 19:12, 6 January 2006 (UTC)
Sure, you may use the word "Vomit Comet" to refer to the Toronto streetcars (I prefer the subway myself), but living in Toronto, and raised in Mississauga, this word was a first to me. If it's limited to use by perhaps 100 people, that's not worth mentioning in wikipedia.
- It's used in Vancouver; may have been brought here by transplanted hosers, though....Skookum1 19:12, 6 January 2006 (UTC)
Also, the prevalence of so so many derogatory terms is what makes this list sound just like urban dictionary. The slang term "Orgyphone" may be used by its creator, but the definition is hardly worth mentioning. "Derogatory term". Great, like I know exactly what the hell it means now.
Grrr... Kareeser|Talk! 22:58, 21 December 2005 (UTC)
If you haven't heard of the Vomet Comet, you shoul get out more. I've been hearing that one for years. You have a point about regionalisms, though. Perhaps this list should be branched to create articles on regional slang, and keep this one for national slang. Ground Zero | t 23:06, 21 December 2005 (UTC)
- Ick... I just read my reply over, and I sound like a complete child. Before this gets and farther, I want to apologize for the excessive attitude. Kareeser|Talk! 23:08, 21 December 2005 (UTC)
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- Don't worry about it. I think you're right on some points, and everyone rants from time to time. Orgyphone? Never heard of that one. It's not a bad idea to post the suspect terms here on the talk page and see if any regular editors come to their defence (like I did for screech). If no-one does, out they go. Ground Zero | t 23:11, 21 December 2005 (UTC)
I agree with Skookum1 that regional slang is appropriate and for the same reasons. However, I don't see the point of including foreign slang simply because it's used in Canada. Some of the terms listed are not unique to Canada but are widespread elsewher as well (meanings 2 and 3 of 'goof', for example, 'fin', 'sawbuck', etc.). And then there's homo milk. Robert Klein used to do a routine about drinking homo milk in NYC, so I doubt that it's unique to Canada. The exception would be terms that originated in Canada and spread elsewhere (I believe wimp is one such). John FitzGerald 00:37, 20 January 2006 (UTC)
[edit] "Nob" — Similar to Hoser?
I know it's pronounced that way, but if I were to use it with that meaning in writing I'd put "knob" with a 'k'. Part of the reason for this is that "nob" out here in BC, if used to mean a person, can just as often mean someone from the upper crust, i.e. from Nob Hill, or short for "nabob".
- "Nob" is British slang for someone wealthy or upper crust (probably derived from "nobility"), but everyone I know around Vancouver use it as a slang term mean in its American slang sense, which is "penis"; "nob" also carries a connotation of stupidity ("Don't be a nob.") I've always thought of it as "knob" in this usage as well, but all slang dictionaries I've seen don't have the "k". - dharmabum 03:22, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
- For me (an Albertan) nob does have pretty much the same meaning as hoser. And it's definately not spelt with a 'k'.--Sheena V 03:53, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
[edit] "Surrey girl" definition/description
Someone wanna help me out with this one; I was "careful" and there's no way I wanted to cite one of the jokes; as with spinny and the psychosexual variant of gearbox, I was uncertain exactly how descriptive to be; also with the BC meaning of Wally World; you have to know Whalley to know not to want to have to go there. Surrey girls: For non-BCers who've never heard of 'em, think "Trailer Park Girls", sort of - I don't mean the jokes, I mean the kind of girl, and they do exist. Women from Surrey will often joke about themselves, casually, as Surrey girls (but only once....).Skookum1 04:00, 10 January 2006 (UTC)
[edit] BC use of asshole to mean Pierre Trudeau
This isn't a joke, only the reporting of one; in BC throughout the Trudeau era, and especially after the Flying Finger incident at Salmon Arm, "that asshole (with emphasis on "that") in 1972-1984 meant Pierre Trudeau, short for that asshole in Ottawa. NB the plural form, ”those assholes” generally refers to the provincial cabinet, the bureaucracy, or the ruling party. Didn't put this in the mainpage list but noting it here as I'd had it in the compilation on Talk:Canadian EnglishSkookum1 19:21, 10 January 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Main drag?
I've always assumed this is generic English, but I used to think that about skookum and spinny, too. Is this used everywhere else in Canada (than BC)? Noticed it today re my comments written on 7 (BC Hwy 7).Skookum1 00:10, 12 January 2006 (UTC)
I'm from Ontario and I've both heard and used the phrase "main drag", usually in reference to a small town. ie) Home Hardware's on the main drag, you can't miss it. --02:24, 15 January 2006 (UTC)ER
If you google main drag you find it isn't uniquely Canadian. Here's an example from Cincinnati John FitzGerald 00:46, 20 January 2006 (UTC)
- OK, I was just curious. And I'm curious as to its origin; how "drag" came to signify "street". Maybe because of something like how Skid Road came into being - a road made out of "skids", logs transverse across the road, which made it easier to haul crap around the muck and stumps of early Seattle and Vancouver. Maybe "drag" is because they dragged a log to smooth down a street, or ?? Strikes me that it's not from "dragstrip" or "dragster", but that those terms derived from "drag race", meaning (originally) "a race down the main drag".Skookum1 01:05, 20 January 2006 (UTC)
You've awakened my curiosity, too. One account I found online claims that Cassell's slang dictionary says a drag was originally a type of stage coach, then in the 1800s the name was transferred to the street the drag ran on. Sounds a little shaky. I don't know what documentary evidence you would find of the transfer. The meaning of street could have arisen independently, quite possibly as you suggest (which seems a lot more plausible to me). More research seems advisable. John FitzGerald 03:39, 20 January 2006 (UTC)
- Maybe it had something to do with the condition of the roads. In Ontario the old dirt roads used to be close to impassible in spring. Your horse would have to drag your wagon through them. But that's just speculation. John FitzGerald 03:55, 20 January 2006 (UTC)
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- Yup, somethin' like that. What I was thinking with the muck and ruts like that, they'd maybe use a big log drawn sideways down the street to smooth it out (if only temporarily). NB drag/drawn (same etymology).Skookum1 04:29, 20 January 2006 (UTC)
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- PS I know a guy at Britannica I can consult on stuff like this; he's an etymological linguist, and seemed to know a lot about the origin of common idioms and such.Skookum1 04:30, 20 January 2006 (UTC)
Merriam-Webster online gives "drag" as meaning "street" or "road", with no usage tag (such as slang), so "drag" is standard English, at least south of the Upper 10. SigPig 02:33, 30 March 2006 (UTC)
[edit] 'LB' or 'LBS'
I've always heard thats its been LBS ie the Liquor Board Store, not just LB (here is Sask. where its still used) Royalguard11 06:06, 31 January 2006 (UTC)
[edit] No Fun City
It is listed as the only "other" city not to have a Y2K celebration, where else didn't? Should be listed.
- Maybe Bellingham WA? See their page - the City of Subdued Excitement they've dubbed themselves; must be a spillover from Vancouver. Don't know what they're talking about; Whatcom County's always been good for a good time. Of course "subdued excitement" still means you have some excitement....Skookum1 07:41, 30 March 2006 (UTC)
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- I was at the Y2K celebration in Vancouver... I'm pretty sure I didn't dream it up. :) J21 17:47, 24 May 2006 (UTC)
Also, an alternative is "nofuncouver", used often by residents and the media.Gimpy 10:44, 1 March 2006 (UTC)
- No it's not. "No Fun City" is used (and overused, esp. by The Province when it's trying to prove there actually is fun in Vancouver), but not the construct "nofuncouver". We've all given up on the No Fun thing anyway; it's gotten boring, being overly true and largely unfixable, and like everything else here after a while has just become a formulaic whine. Skookum1 17:14, 17 March 2006 (UTC)
[edit] New entries
I am new to this page and I have found it extremely interesting. I have added several Vancouverisms that were not on the page: The Drive, Surrey Lanka, Skypigs, and The Island.
- most of these ones from BC are unfamiliar to me (an Albertan), but The Island (referring to Vancouver Island) versus the islands (referring to the Gulf Islands) I think extend into Alberta. I know if I refer to The Island, everyone I know in Alberta will know where I mean. Do other Albertans agree?--Sheena V 04:07, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
[edit] "The Big Owe"
"The Big Owe" is an accepted nickname for Olympic Stadium, based on the debt that the building is racking up. This nickname has been used by the CBC, the Guardian (UK), TSN, canoe.ca, as well as Wikipedia's own entry under Olympic Stadium. All this from just the first page of results from Googling "the big owe" with "olympic". SigPig 18:09, 21 March 2006 (UTC)
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- that was my goof SigPig...I had 2 different wiki-pages open at once. The other was the legit rv not yours. I'll blame a finicky touchpad and an absence of coffee in my system. Anger22 18:12, 21 March 2006 (UTC)
- No worries. After 20+ yrs in the CF, I can relate to the earth-shattering consequence of having too high a blood concentration in my caffeine! You know it's bad when at oh-dark-thirty you're stirring a pack or two of Mother Parker's into your Crunchy-Type Cereal and eating it straight because you started talking to your rifle...and it started answering... SigPig 21:59, 21 March 2006 (UTC)
- It's when it starts firing on its own that you have to worry....Skookum1 07:39, 30 March 2006 (UTC)
- No worries. After 20+ yrs in the CF, I can relate to the earth-shattering consequence of having too high a blood concentration in my caffeine! You know it's bad when at oh-dark-thirty you're stirring a pack or two of Mother Parker's into your Crunchy-Type Cereal and eating it straight because you started talking to your rifle...and it started answering... SigPig 21:59, 21 March 2006 (UTC)
- that was my goof SigPig...I had 2 different wiki-pages open at once. The other was the legit rv not yours. I'll blame a finicky touchpad and an absence of coffee in my system. Anger22 18:12, 21 March 2006 (UTC)
[edit] New Pages
I wonder if parts of this page could be split up into regions. It's a bit long, and unreadable in some ways. And so much of it really is regional. I know i don't recognize a lot of the terms. Just a thought.--Sheena V 04:09, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
- I think that would be even more unwieldy. There are slang terms which may be isolated within a small area of a region, and others which span regions. Maybe a better idea would be to stick a little qualifier in parentheses after a term, using a province, region, etc; e.g. (NL), (Maritimes), (Prairies and BC Interior), (Kingston, ON, 123 Princess Street, 3rd floor landing ONLY), etc. SigPig 02:38, 30 March 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Ghetto Blaster
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that people use this term anymore. SilentRage 18:24, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
- Actually I've read it held on in Canada much longer than elsewhere. Kevlar67 05:32, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
[edit] The `Whack or is it the `Wack
The common slang term I have heard for Chilliwack is "The `Whack" don't know if it should be wack or whack or if it really matters. But this may be something that could be added?
[edit] "Sea to Die" highway?
Did a Google search, got:
- 3 blogs: [3] [4] [5]
- Skiiing Magazine
- Vancouver Power & Sail Squadron
- Forum at "The Tyee" online newspaper also here
- Whistler Question letter to editor
- Forum at bcsportbikes.com
- A French-language forum at CampingQuebec.com
- A tourism workshop book issued by Tourism BC
I think this term has more currency than is given credit for. SigPig 02:00, 18 April 2006 (UTC)
Currency in media sources who draw on each other's lingo, but not currency in everyday speech. I note in the Tyee forums the one poster is careful to use quotation marks - indicating he's citing the media idiom or something artificially-phrased (i.e. not actual slang) and/or borrowed from somewhere; and it's fairly obvious to me that trendy zip-phrases will get eagerly picked up by cub outdoors journalists trying to sound cool; so Camping Quebec, Sailing and Skiing Magazines can all be considered to be aping BC's very own neologism-pumping media, who revel in lurid, tabloidish names like this one. It wouldn't be the first time one mistaken/mis-cited notion has been repeated as the gospel truth and so become it (e.g. the name "South Chilcotin", which isn't in the Chilcotin). The "currency" you've pulled off of Google is really all the same amount written on ten different cheques; repetition of a catchy phrase does not make it current slang. In the Whistler Question article, for example, the gist is that the phrase is used by paramedics working ambulances on the highway.....implication: that the paramedics use the term implies that it's their usage; i.e. no one else does.Skookum1 18:01, 29 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Verifiable sources and slang
Do the slang terms have to have verifiable sources and if so, would this not severly reduce the amount of words that should be here since true slang terms (such as "Bunkford" for Brantford, unlike words like SAQ, which is not really slang) are often regional and restricted in a geographical sense and, as the meaning of slang implies, rarely written, especially terms from rural areas with small populations. Another question, is this supposed to be for pan-Canadian slang or just slang terms that happen to be used somewhere in Canada and not elsewhere. Anyway, to really know whether a slang term "Canadian" is or not could get tricky. Depending on how strict one would want to define "Canadian", one might have to show that a word, or a particular usage of a word, did not originate in any of the input English dialects that were brought to Canada, which in some cases would be a tricky endeavor. Just a thought. Stettlerj 17:40, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
- One of my ongoing concerns with this article is that it is something of a free-for-all. Not only can localised expressions not always be verifiable by Wikipedia standards; but there are expressions listed here that are not, strictly speaking, confined to Canada. But it is extraordinarily time-consuming to delete each one and then provide verification on the talk page that it is not a Canadian-only expression. Personally, I think the whole article should be deleted as listcruft. Fishhead64 19:46, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
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- I probably agree. It does seem just like a long list of possible Canadian slang terms that was thrown together without much thought. The article is made even harder in that real slang terms are probably quite difficult to verify, as I have found out after trying hard to verify a slang term, that I tried adding. In any case, a list of words is not really encyclopedic and probably belongs in something like the wiktionary. Stettlerj 20:48, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
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- I agree with you on that. The slang for specific places/residents of places is particularly bad, in my opinion. Lots of stuff that's likely never used by anyone who's not a resident of that particular place (as opposed to what I can only assume it was for originally: slang terms for specific regions that are widely used). For example "The Tunnel"? Seriously, I'm sure you could fill an article just on places that have a nickname for something of "the Tunnel". g026r 00:56, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
- (I'd also argue that some of the entries seem to exist solely to push the editor's prefered version of something with multiple names. Cf. Doubloonie, and its description. Even wikitionary's entry implies that Twoonie/Twooney/Toonie is the more commonly used phrase.) g026r 01:08, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
[edit] AfD
Given the preponderance of editors' views in the AfD discussion was that the article should be merged or deleted, why was the outcome "keep"? More to the point, why has a merge proposal tag been placed on it? One would have thought that the outcome of the discussion was "merge." What am I missing here? Fishhead64 23:24, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
- I am just copying what was on the closed AfD... it did state that it should be merged and the tags are there... Admrb♉ltz (t • c • log) 00:08, 4 May 2006 (UTC)
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- Well, let's just merge the sucker and be done with it.
Eleven out of fifteentwelve out of fourteen editors suggests a consnensus has been established. Unless there is a sudden eruption of opposition, I can begin the process this weekend. Fishhead64 00:19, 4 May 2006 (UTC)
- Well, let's just merge the sucker and be done with it.
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- Merger accomplished! Could use cleanup though. I changed "Canadian slang words or phrases for specific places or residents of specific places" to "regional slang." (a tad less verbose, eh?). --JackLumber 13:33, 5 May 2006 (UTC)
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[edit] A bold proposal
When I first proposed Canadian slang as an AfD, I had expected that we would probably end up with the merge that has now been accomplished. I hoped, however, that we could clean up some of the unverified free-for-all dross in the process. And so my modest audacious proposal to remove the following words from the list:
- Words and expressions that are common outside Canada
biffy; brown bread; keener; Robertson; serviette; The Boys; Buck; buds; bumpershine; carpool lane; cherrypicker; chokerman; The Colonel’s; Farmer’s tan; The ferries; fin; Flatlander; FOB; fuck the dog; gearbox; ghetto blaster; Gina; Gino; greenchain; Habs; hoodie; logey; militants; neck; nob; prolly; Redneck; Sens; Siskiyou; slack; tickety-boo; Townie; wanker; way-too.
- Words and expressions that are too rare or localised to be considered typical of Canada
gettone; lopstick; loser cruiser; proletariat chariot; trousseau tea; AADAC; Beaner; Blah Blahs; Blueneck; Board Store; Brick; Bob Loblaws; Boss’n Bar; BT; Caker; Canucklehead; Cave-On Foods; Combine Pilots; cougar; The Couve; Crap Dinner; Crappy Tire, etc.; dart; Dirty Bird; double sawbuck; doubloon; durd; Fare well; Farmer’s stop; Farmer’s blow; Farmer turn; Farmer vision; Flip; French Fry; garbage mitts; goler;Gouge-and-Screw tax; high test; hogous; Dept. of Holidays; honger; horseman; Horny Tim’s; hyas; Icky-Bicky; jam buster; jib-tech warrior; Jigger; jono; Kenora Dinner Jacket; Kentucky Fried Pigeon; Kentucky Fried Raven; Kentucky Yucky; The LB; LC (Elcee); Lick-Bo; Lick-n-Blow; Low Blow’s; Luftwaffe; mack; mahsie; Make Me Laughs; Mangia cake; Mapleflot; Mardi Gras; Maylong; May 2-4; McDick’s; McFamilies; The ‘mission; Mission Shitty; Molson muscle; Moving Day; Nazi Parade;Newfie 500; nish; The O; orgyphone; Petro; PFK; prep; Prince George Eventually; The Q; R.C.; Real Canadian Stupidstore; Reservation rocket; rippers; Rotten Ronnie’s; Saskatchewan chrome; Scarborough suitcase; Scare Canada; Scrappy Tire; Senaturds; Sev; shit the bed; Shitty TV; skid; Sloblaws; smog dog; spores; sp’ed; square of beer; Stink John; Stupidstore; suitcase; Surrey girl; Surrey Tuxedo; Swiss, Swiss Pigeon; tyee; Ukrainian Tire; Ukrainian Firing Squad; Vada Day; vico; vomit comet; The W; Welly Mart; West Ed; zoomer.
- Canadian products, concepts, or institutions, not Canadian words or expressions
butter tart; Ketchup potato chips; Kraft Dinner; Red Rocket; Centre of the Universe; (CKA) Canada Kicks Ass; (CFA) Comes From Away; O.P.P.; OSAP; SAQ; Shreddies.
- Different pronunciations, not words or expressions
fock; idjit.
- Slang terms for regions and communities
I'm suggesting all be removed except for the most common ones, known relatively well across the country, and that they be merged into the alphabetical section (there is already much duplication)
Remove all EXCEPT the following:
905 (zone); Back East/Out East; The Big Owe; The Big Smoke; Bluenoser; British California; The bush; Bytown; Caper; Edmonchuk; Cowtown; Hogtown; Hongcouver; NDG; Newfie; Redmonton; ROC; The Rock; Salt Chuck; Saskabush; Scarberia; Stubble Jumper; The Soo; T.O.; T-dot; T-Can.
Please let me know what you think of my suggestion(s). Fishhead64 21:50, 8 May 2006 (UTC)
- You can probably get away with leaving GTA in there as well. (Note: not from Ontario, let alone Toronto.) I'd also suggest removing all words from the slang list that are already located in the main word list. (e.g. loonie, toonie) g026r 09:27, 10 May 2006 (UTC)
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- Words and expressions common outside of Canada can probabaly go. I don't see the need to delete " Words and expressions that are too rare or localised to be considered typical of Canada" however; I guess I see the approach as "all or nothing". If something is commonly used outside of Canada it is clearly inappropriate, but consider - the very fibre of our culture, the word "eh" is indeed used outside of Canada. Removing it, for example, would seem wrong. Perhaps an exception should be made for those words that are quintessentially, if not exclusively, Canadian. I'd suggest drafting a complete set of guidelines for this page and, if accepted by consensus, posting it at the top of the talk page to guide future editors. The question then becomes - what criteria do you want to apply? You haven't mentioned any.Michael Dorosh 13:09, 10 May 2006 (UTC)
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- I frankly thought that "brown bread" was more common in Canada than elsewhere, but a Google search seems to show the opposite (outnumbered by "whole wheat bread" by more than 20:1!). We can't however get rid of a word just because it's used outside of Canada---"serviette," for instance, seems to be surviving better in Canada than in Britain, where it's often objected to, so I guess it's pretty much at home on this page. And... are you sure you want to delete all the alternate names for Scarborough ;-) JackLumber 12:13, 12 May 2006 (UTC)
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- Well, if the etymology of a word or phrase is Canadian, then I could see your point. But neither "brown bread" not "serviette" fall into that category. Just because a word is used a lot in Canada, or more frequently than in the US, does that make it a Canadian word? Methinks not. Fishhead64 04:44, 13 May 2006 (UTC)
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- You asked for feedback on your suggestion(s) - I suggested introducing some criteria by which you would judge the appropriateness of words for this article. You've yet to reply.Michael Dorosh 05:46, 13 May 2006 (UTC)
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- Here's a possible criterion: a word should be included if it enjoys more use in Canada than in the rest of the English-speaking world---not just the U.S. Brown bread isn't such a word; washroom is. --JackLumber 19:23, 14 May 2006 (UTC)
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- My proposed criterion is that (a) the word be generally accepted to be in common parlance, noting that this isn't a page about Toronto words or St. Albert words or what have you; (b) the word not be a variation in spelling or pronunciation - this is an article about vocabulary, not enunciation; and (c) that the word, while it may be used outside Canada, is most frequently used inside Canada. I'm going to be bold and delete what I think does not fall into these categories, and if people feel strongly enough to reinsert the words, go ahead and do so. My only suggestion is that some justification or criterion be used in the edit summary.
- I hope I am not being out of line in taking this step - if I am I'm sure I'll hear about it! I intend no offence, but am making these edits in good faith, as a way of ensuring that the content on this page meets some criterion of being notable words of Canadian etymology or dispropotionate currency. Fishhead64 22:03, 15 May 2006 (UTC)
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[edit] Are all Canadian Words English?
Shouldn't this be English Canadian Words. I don't see many Québécismes in here, and those are of course Canadian words too, no? Stettlerj 21:45, 10 May 2006 (UTC)
- Hmm, you have a point. Perhaps a move (!) to "Canadian English words"? SigPig 22:11, 10 May 2006 (UTC)
- Arrrrgh! I need an attorney! (actually, a "barrister & solicitor"). Well... this is the English Wikipedia and this article is a spinoff of Canadian English, so I guess the article should include Québécismes as long as they are used in _English_. Maybe just a link to Quebec French lexicon in the article will do. JackLumber 12:13, 12 May 2006 (UTC)
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- Québec is Canada and French is just as Canadian as English so since its words are not included it needs a title change. Stettlerj 23:03, 12 May 2006 (UTC)
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- No, I don't think so. A paragraph with a link to Quebec French lexicon wil suffice. --JackLumber 19:24, 14 May 2006 (UTC)
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[edit] PoCompton
Throughout my teen years, all throughout highschool in fact, those of us living in Port Coquitlam or PoCo for short, have always referred to it as PoCompton, in light of what a craphole it is. I think that the word craphole might also be distinctly Canadian, eh?
[edit] Once again - standards?
I've just edited out some words I have commonly heard in my travels abroad ("gettone," "shit disturber"), slang expressions that are not, strictly speaking, words, but are the sort of constructions that exist all over ("Crappy Tire"), and concepts that have their own articles ("Family Compact"). Again I ask: What constitutes a "Canadian word"? Fishhead64 05:23, 23 May 2006 (UTC)
- What do you mean by "Family Compact is not a word"? Well, _technically speaking_, it is a compound comprised of two words. But all the articles that are list of words do house such expressions. If Family Compact is dealt with in a separate article, then an entry like "Family Compact: see article." will suffice. Check out the layout of such pages as List of American words not widely used in the United Kingdom, List of British words not widely used in the United States, Australian words, List of words having different meanings in British and American English, etc. JackLumber, 14:42, 24 May 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Thongs
I don't think 'thong' is a Saskatchewan thing so much as a Western thing. I grew up in BC saying "thongs" (and still do, for the most part).
[edit] Hydro
Hi everybody. Hydro is currently listed as slang, but I guess it's actually a regular term. Transmission towers are hydro towers and electricity bills are hydro bills---is that standard usage or just slang? JackLumber, 12:42, 6 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Note on Surrey Girl
The reason I added this, as it wasn't here before, is because someone made a stub article for it; not quite an accurate one, either, although I amended it a bit (and pls see Talk:Surrey Girl). I know this page is only supposed to be for Canada-wide terms, more or less; well, sort of, as there's lots of place-specific terms; there somewhere is that list of geographic/placename derisives, but it's not linked in See Also. Where'd it go - because I would have put Surrey Girl there, and also Cariboozer.Skookum1 19:16, 15 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Attention: Slang Glossary policy discussion underway
Slang glossaries violate the following policy:
Wikipedia is not a dictionary or a usage or jargon guide. Wikipedia articles are not:
- Dictionary definitions. Because Wikipedia is not a dictionary, please do not create an entry merely to define a term. An article should usually begin with a good definition; if you come across an article that is nothing more than a definition, see if there is information you can add that would be appropriate for an encyclopedia. An exception to this rule is for articles about the cultural meanings of individual numbers.
- Lists of such definitions. There are, however, disambiguation pages consisting of pointers to other pages; these are used to clarify differing meanings of a word. Wikipedia also includes glossary pages for various specialized fields.
- A usage guide or slang and idiom guide. Wikipedia is not in the business of saying how words, idioms, etc. should be used. We aren't teaching people how to talk like a Cockney chimney-sweep. However, it may be important in the context of an encyclopedia article to describe just how a word is used to distinguish among similar, easily confused ideas, as in nation or freedom. In some special cases an article about an essential piece of slang may be appropriate.
Due to the many AfDs which are initiated to enforce this policy and due to the resistance to such deletion by defenders of the glossaries, I have started a discussion at Wikipedia talk:What Wikipedia is not#Slang glossaries to rewrite the policy in order to solve this problem and to readdress this question: should slang glossaries by allowed on Wikipedia? --List Expert 23:23, 4 August 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Hoodie
Is "hoodie" a Canadian word? A.L.A.L. 17:13, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
[edit] two types of words
I think maybe there should be some kind of distinction made between canadian words for ordinary things... like "chesterfield"... and words for things that only exist in canada... like "toonie".
[edit] Caibo (sp?)
So, does not everyone refer to the crapper, specifically an outhouse, longdrop or dunny, as the caibo? (I have no idea how it's spelled) Is this just a very southwestern Ontario term?
[edit] Surrey girl article deleted
Awww. I just happened to find this out while commenting about the band No Fun on the Talk:The No Fun EP page, and then noticed the redlink. Missed the deletion request or I would have opposed it; granted there's no legitimate sources for this term, but that's the fault of the media for being so prissy and p.c.-types for preventing anything "sexist" from appearing in print. Guess that happened here to. Prissiness is everywhere I guess...and a sense of humour is one thing we're NOT noted for (unless appropriately sanitized for CanCon back-patting).Skookum1 21:32, 27 September 2006 (UTC)