# Canadianisms! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 30, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368 "2017-03-30T19:26:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368/21 "2017-03-31T06:32:05Z")
Homo milk: whole-fat homogenized milk. Parkade: parking garage ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368/22 "2017-03-31T14:11:17Z")
“Aboot!” ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368/23 "2017-03-31T14:26:44Z")
> [@](#): > > Actually, that’s Montréal. T.O is the big city above Buffalo. ������ Which is in… what state? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gregorio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gregorio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregorio)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368/24 "2017-03-31T14:38:45Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Another Canadianism in the food and drink department is the Caesar, short for Bloody Caesar although it’s rarely called that. Like a Bloody Mary, but made with clamato (clam juice + tomato juice) and with different seasonings including a distinctive Caesar-seasoning rimmed glass. It’s lighter and less cloying than a Bloody Mary. The amazing thing about it is that a drink that is one of Canada’s most popular cocktails is virtually unknown in the US. And invented at the Owl’s Nest in Calgary on the ground floor of the International Hotel. Bunny Hugs were called kangaroos or a kangaroo jacket at my house growing up because of the pouch like pocket at the front. Now called hoodies it seems. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368/25 "2017-03-31T14:50:22Z")
> [@Poysyn](#): > > Nah, a Bismarck is filled with custard. \You sound suspiciously like you’re from out East…like Ontario…:dubious:😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368/26 "2017-03-31T15:01:38Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > … > Stag and Doe - a type of bachelor/bachelorette party Not really, a Stag and Doe is a basically a party to raise funds for the wedding. Usually held at a bar or hall. Invitation is not necessary and admission tickets are sold, and there are raffle, auction, contests, prizes, etc… 26’er - 26 ounce liquor bottle Smokes/Darts - cigarettes Poutine - french fries, cheese curds, and gravy. Box - 12 pack of beer ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368/27 "2017-03-31T15:09:29Z")
> [@Drummond\_Bays](#): > > As mentioned above, ‘to’ - where, at > ‘Where we to?’ > ‘Yer mudder an yer fadder bye, where they be to?’ Where I grew up in upstate NY, local syntax turned “My father works at IBM” into “My father works up to the IBM”. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368/28 "2017-03-31T15:24:21Z")
Sugar Shack - not a place where you go for a little nookie but a shack in the woods where you boil maple sap down to make maple syrup. Sugaring Off - not the final act of nookie action but a gathering in early spring where you eat maple syrup spread on snow cones and enjoy other delicious foods that benefit from generous helpings of maple syrup (pancakes, ham, etc…) Shack Up - actually this is a possible result of extended succession of nookie. To live together before or instead of being married. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368/29 "2017-03-31T15:49:48Z")
A note on pronunciation: At one point, when I was still in Vancouver, **Zyada** considered knitting me a “toke” as a gift when she came up from Texas to visit. Luckily, she didn’t get around to it, so I was the one to explain that “toque” is pronounced “tooook”, instead of Customs taking her into the back room to clear things up. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368/30 "2017-03-31T16:00:28Z")
Also: - Liquor comes in a mickey, a 26, or a 40. (Those are Imperial ounces, a bit larger than US ones, and the bottles are now labelled in metric.) - Poutine is, of course, made with chips or _pommes frites_, no matter what you Merkins call them. (Shoulda previewed, eh?) ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368/31 "2017-03-31T17:32:00Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > “15. CUBE VAN-A “recent term that appears to be actively spreading across Canada, but not into the US.” It’s a cube-shaped truck, like a moving or delivery van.” > > Is this like “box truck”? I guess so since this listing says “Cube Van Box Truck” to please the US and Canada! > > [http://www.ebay.com/itm/2002-GMC-3500-Cube-Van-Box-Truck-/302240087955?hash=item465ee9bf93:g:TE8AAOSwfVpYuC8L&vxp=mtr](http://www.ebay.com/itm/2002-GMC-3500-Cube-Van-Box-Truck-/302240087955?hash=item465ee9bf93:g:TE8AAOSwfVpYuC8L&vxp=mtr) It’s the biggest thing you can drive with a standard driver’s licence. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368/32 "2017-03-31T17:37:50Z")
Many of these are regionalisms. We live in a big country. Fr’instance, I’ve never heard of #3, 13, 16, 17 or 24. Similarly people out west don’t know what a sugar shack (cabane à sucre) is, since they don’t have the correct trees and/or winter. Oh, and smoked meat is NOTHING like corned beef. The closest American equivalent is pastrami. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368/33 "2017-03-31T17:55:00Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Another Canadianism in the food and drink department is the Caesar, short for Bloody Caesar although it’s rarely called that. Like a Bloody Mary, but made with clamato (clam juice + tomato juice) and with different seasonings including a distinctive Caesar-seasoning rimmed glass. It’s lighter and less cloying than a Bloody Mary. The amazing thing about it is that a drink that is one of Canada’s most popular cocktails is virtually unknown in the US. STOP TELLING THE AMERICANS ABOUT CAESARS. Some of them are starting to catch on, but it would be nice to just have this to ourselves. AMERICANS: Caesars are made of _CLAM JUICE_! Isn’t that disgusting? Clams are biologically rocks with snot in them. Should have called the drink snotsers instead of caesars. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368/34 "2017-03-31T20:12:15Z")
Caesars are catching on everywhere. I was able to get Clamato in Acapulco a few years ago and I just got back from 2 weeks in Costa Rica and my SIL was able to stock up there as well! The other key ingredients are tabasco and Worcestershire sauce, after that people start to improvise their own. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368/35 "2017-03-31T20:41:13Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > Poutine - french fries, cheese curds, and gravy. My daughter came home from a TO visit with tales of poutine. Bleah. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368/36 "2017-03-31T20:50:41Z")
Rec Centre ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368/37 "2017-03-31T21:01:10Z")
I am unfamiliar with most of those terms despite living here for 49 years. Smoked meat is different from either corned beef or pastrami, although closer to the latter. I think poutine has spread all over the US, the northern part at least. And I call it a tuque. A toque is what a chef wears on his head. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368/38 "2017-03-31T21:02:30Z")
> [@Whiskey\_Dickens](#): > > STOP TELLING THE AMERICANS ABOUT CAESARS. Some of them are starting to catch on, but it would be nice to just have this to ourselves. > > AMERICANS: Caesars are made of _CLAM JUICE_! Isn’t that disgusting? Clams are biologically rocks with snot in them. Should have called the drink snotsers instead of caesars. Wait, wait, people have been drinking that here in the US for ages. Didn’t know the name of it, but people have been drinking it. I thought that the only reason people bought Clamato, universally always available in grocery stores, for that purpose. Snotser is a pretty good name, though. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368/39 "2017-03-31T21:03:58Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Sugar Shack - not a place where you go for a little nookie but a shack in the woods where you boil maple sap down to make maple syrup. > Sugaring Off - not the final act of nookie action but a gathering in early spring where you eat maple syrup spread on snow cones and enjoy other delicious foods that benefit from generous helpings of maple syrup (pancakes, ham, etc…) > Shack Up - actually this is a possible result of extended succession of nookie. To live together before or instead of being married. Didn’t think these were Canadianisms, but standard terms in all maple sugar country, such as Upstate New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, etc. I’ve known them all my life. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368/40 "2017-03-31T21:23:15Z")
> [@rjk](#): > > Also: > > - Liquor comes in a mickey, a 26, or a 40. (Those are Imperial ounces, a bit larger than US ones, and the bottles are now labelled in metric.) US ounces are **bigger** than Imperial ounces, by about 4% (29.57 vs 28.41 mL). But US pints/gallons/etc. are smaller, because there are fewer (16 US oz vs 20 Imp oz per pint, 128 vs 160 per gallon). Therefore the 26 is just another name for the standard US liquor size, which is 750 mL or 25.36 US oz, and most commonly called a “fifth.” The larger size of US liquor (“handle”) is 1.75 mL or 61.6 Imp oz. But wait, they sell 3 L bottles of liquor??? IIRC some of these are Ontarioisms, like hydro? The Caesar is pretty well known in the US by reputation, but fewer people have tried it. [Clamato-based drinks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelada) are fairly common, particularly in areas with higher Mexican populations. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadianisms/783368.md?page=3)