Siwash is a word from the west coast, both BC and Washington. Here’s a link for some of the background. Years ago, there was controversy over the use of the word in the name of a Vancouver landmark [Siwash Rock in Stanley Park], as it had become a pejorative term.
The siwash [or Indian] sweater that I remember from childhood was a heavy outer garment knit with thick yarn and with a zipper closure. It [always ?] had a pattern of something meaningful to the wearer - horses [for young girls, as I recall], the curling club logo, moose. Here’re some examples.
A 2-4 has always referred to a case of 24 beers in Ontario where I was introduced to it as I came of age. Most everybody bought beer that way, and all the brands used the same stubby bottle that fascinated us underage would be drinkers. Ontarions always bought their beer that way at outlets specifically designated for beer sales caled Brewer’s Retail. When I moved to B.C. in 79, I was surprised to find out that one could only purchase beer in quantities of 6 or 12 units. My fellow Ontarions in B.C. laughingly referred to them as “poverty packs”.
I remember mine as being a blue grey with black moose on it, but no where near as fancy as the ones in the picture. It was wonderfully warm, and could be worn till it was almost zero out (farenheit in those days.) I never saw siwash spelled out it was always just the spoken word.
2-4 is an Ontarioism - I’d never hear it except from Ontario folks, because as grienspace notes, in the western provinces a case of beer was only 12 beer.
Weird sizes are quite common in Alberta too. 4, 15, 18 are getting quite popular, in addition to the Mini Bubba keg… which I think equals about 15 cans.
My girlfriend and I are both Canadian but she is going to school in the US right now. She was surprised to discover that they don’t have “Smarties” (the candy) or “Caesars” (the cocktail) in the US. Also, she put ketchup on her scrambled eggs and they looked at her like she was nuts.
