Relocation services for British Columbia, Canada

Canadian slang

I think it was Churchill who said, of America and Britain, that they were two nations divided by a common language. This short guide might help you bridge that divide.

• Beaver tails
  Deep fried pastry in the shape of a beaver’s tail, often served with maple syrup or chocolate toppings.
• Grow Op
  An illegal marijuana growing operation. Usually in a rented property.
• Hosed
  Drunk, as in “I was hosed last night”.
• Hoser
  A beer-swilling, unsophisticated, person, often wearing flannel shirt and tuque. Origins in the mid-Eighties when Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis played two hosers, Bob and Doug MacKenzie, in SCTV. Latest incarnation: Trailer Park Boys.
• Hydro
  Electricity. Hydro is illegally tapped into by Grow-Ops.
• KD
  Kraft Dinner. This is macaroni cheese, is very cheap, and is probably the only thing your children will cook for themselves. Especially when they go away to college.
• Kitty Corner or Cater Corner
  Diagonally across from. As in this Starbucks is Kitty Corner to that Starbucks.
• Lookie-Lou
  Someone coming to look around rather than get involved. Used for rubber-neckers or nosey parkers. Lookie-Lou’s cause traffic hold ups by slowing down to gawp at accidents. Also known as nosey parkers (UK) or sticky beaks (Australia).
• Loonie
  A one dollar coin. Essential for shopping carts (or buggies, but not trolleys) and parking meters.
• Murphy bed
  A bed that folds down from the wall.
• Poutine
  A French Canadian “delicacy” of fries, with gravy and cheese curds.
• Sick
  Out of the world amazing. Though as this is teen slang, it is probably as dead as groovy or far out by the time I get to hear it.
• Timbit
  The centre of a doughnut. As sold in Tim Hortons. Another Canadian gourmet item.
• Toonie
  A two dollar coin . Also useful for parking meters.
• Toque, Touque or Tuque
  Pronounced “tewk” A knitted hat, similar to a beanie.
• Venti, Grande and Tall
  Cup sizes in Starbucks. Not to be used in Blenz, Bean around the World, Second Cup, Tim Hortons or other coffee shops, each of whom seem to need to invent their own terms for small, medium and large.
• Weed wacker
  A strimmer.

Also beware of using certain terms which may be misunderstood. All these words have caused confusion or blank looks when we’ve used them.

• Bathing suit
  It’s a swim suit.
• Crisps
  These are chips. But when you ask for fish and chips, you’ll most likely get fries.
• Fag
  You probably will not want to bum a fag. A fag is a term for a gay. No one smokes anyway.
• Hoover
  This is a vacuum.
• Jail
  Correctional facility. This is the PC term.
• Knickers
  Panties is the correct term for this item of underwear. Not to be confused with pants, which are trousers.
• Lorry
  Using this term will definitely get you mocked - with Austin Powers impressions. Use truck instead.
• Rubber
  In Canada this is not something you generally have on the end of your pencil. Ask for an eraser instead. Gwen made an impression on the boys in her first week of school by asking if any of them had a rubber!
• Tippex
  This is white out. Not to be confused with extreme weather conditions.
• Trainers
  If you mean athletic footwear, then the term is sneakers. If you’re referring to the person who shouts at you to encourage you to exercise - you’re right.