# Is "Canucks" a derogatory term? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 28, 2018, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436 "2018-08-28T21:50:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436/1 "2018-08-28T21:50:31Z")
I have a coworker who previously lived in Canada (though born in Eastern Europe) who frequently uses this term to describe Canadians. (We do a fair amount of work with our Montreal office.) Lately he’s taken to using it in emails. If this is a derogatory term then I feel like I need to instruct him to cease and desist, but I don’t know. It’s used as the name of an NHL hockey team so I’m thinking it’s most likely inoffensive, but that doesn’t always follow. ---
**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:** [August 28, 2018, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436/2 "2018-08-28T21:56:08Z")
:eek: You Take That Back! Now I’ll have to drink a double double and recite the Hockey Song! No, it’s not offensive and about on par with the European use of Yank FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436/3 "2018-08-28T22:08:22Z")
> [@](#): > > Calling a Canadian a Canuck is about 98% safe. I’m leaving 2% though in the off chance that someone absolutely hates Vancouvers NHL team > **[What is a Canuck? The History behind the Canadian Nickname - I Backpack Canada](https://ibackpackcanada.com/what-is-a-canuck-the-history-behind-the-canadian-nickname/)** > > Throughout my travels I've met people from all over the world. Many of whom proudly wore, or defiantly protested a nickname their countrys people have been given by another. While some of them can surely be seen as insults, many even approaching... ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436/4 "2018-08-28T22:26:38Z")
Note, before asking I looked at [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canuck) which said: > [@](#): > > English Canadians use “Canuck” as an affectionate or merely descriptive term for their nationality. > > If familiar with the term, most citizens of other nations, including the United States, also use it affectionately, though there are individuals who may use it as derogatory term. So my question was what exactly “most” and “there are individuals” meant. If 80% use it affectionately and 20% use it as a derogatory term then that doesn’t cut it for me. (“me”, in this case meaning my responsibility to avoid potential harm to my employer from offensive language in company emails.) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436/5 "2018-08-28T22:31:37Z")
Canadians uniformly find it to be a deeply insulting term. They’re just far too polite to say anything about it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436/6 "2018-08-28T22:42:01Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Canadians uniformly find it to be a deeply insulting term. They’re just far too polite to say anything about it. 😉 Well done. I was told, many years ago, that it was indeed a deeply insulting term for French-Canadians. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436/7 "2018-08-28T22:44:22Z")
Speaking as an Ontarian, no it’s not offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436/8 "2018-08-28T22:46:45Z")
Meet Olde Tyme Canadian hero [Johnny Canuck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Canuck). So yeah, not an insult. ---
**Author:** ![Crazy\_Canuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazy_canuck/32/5282_2.png) [@Crazy\_Canuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazy_Canuck)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436/9 "2018-08-28T23:01:07Z")
Wow, a thread with my name all over it. It’s not offensive. The exception was that one time, back in 2011, when the Vancouver Canucks shit the bed and lost the Stanley Cup to the Bruins in game seven. That started a bit of a riot which led to a few hard feelings over the word, but that’s all blown over by now. Since everyone seems to agree on Canuck, what about using the work Yank or Yanky to describe an American? Is that a similar thing? ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436/10 "2018-08-28T23:11:26Z")
Similarly, what is the derogatoriness level of using “newfie” for Newfoundlander? My general impression is that its more likely to give offense than “canuck”, (I grew up with newfie jokes replacing blonde jokes) but is still very mild and would more likely than not be accepted moderately cheerfully. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436/11 "2018-08-28T23:59:28Z")
> [@Crazy\_Canuck](#): > > Since everyone seems to agree on Canuck, what about using the work Yank or Yanky to describe an American? Is that a similar thing? In my experience, Yank or Yankee is very, very rarely heard among Americans when referring to each other. I have a few non-U.S. friends who use “Yank” on occasion to refer to us, and it seems to go unremarked. That said, there are two potential issues with it: 1. Similar to Canuck, “Yankee” also is the name of an American sports team. Avid fans of their rivals (particularly Boston Red Sox fans) might take some umbrage. 2. More broadly, it’s possible that some residents of the southern states that were in the Confederacy during the Civil War wouldn’t like to be called a Yankee. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436/12 "2018-08-29T01:37:51Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > Similarly, what is the derogatoriness level of using “newfie” for Newfoundlander? My general impression is that its more likely to give offense than “canuck”, (I grew up with newfie jokes replacing blonde jokes) but is still very mild and would more likely than not be accepted moderately cheerfully. As with Canuck, Newfie is one of those terms that we keep being informed is offensive, and yet, I’ve never met an actual Canadian, or Newfoundlander, who actually considers these terms offensive. And this is coming from a Canadian whose mother is from Newfoundland, for what it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436/13 "2018-08-29T01:42:55Z")
> [@Crazy\_Canuck](#): > > Wow, a thread with my name all over it. > > It’s not offensive. The exception was that one time, back in 2011, when the Vancouver Canucks shit the bed and lost the Stanley Cup to the Bruins in game seven. That started a bit of a riot which led to a few hard feelings over the word, but that’s all blown over by now. > > Since everyone seems to agree on Canuck, what about using the work Yank or Yanky to describe an American? Is that a similar thing? It might be if there were to be a baseball team called the Yankees. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436/14 "2018-08-29T10:20:31Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > Similarly, what is the derogatoriness level of using “newfie” for Newfoundlander? I met a “newfie” when I was overseas many years ago. She told me she was a “newfie”, so obviously it didn’t bother her. I’d never heard the term beforehand and I knew nothing about Newfoundland except it was a type of dog. (Interestingly, she met another “newfie” working at the museum, which is apparently quite unlikely, there not being many people who live there to come across when you’re overseas.) ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436/15 "2018-08-29T12:19:38Z")
In my experience, “Yank” is exclusively used by people in some non-US countries to refer to Americans. It’s common in Ireland and I have heard it in England also. “Yankee”, when not referring to the baseball team, has two uses. It’s a seldom-used general term for Americans. It’s also a more-commonly used but increasingly rare term for a specific group of Americans - born-and-bred New Englanders. I call myself a Yankee. I’m frugal, I can build things, I have a Boston accent, I live in an old house which I will never consider finished, and I’m a curmudgeon. ---
**Author:** ![Panther\_Modern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac8455/32.png) [@Panther\_Modern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panther_Modern)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436/16 "2018-08-29T12:21:09Z")
You might be thinking of “cuck,” the word of choice for the alt-right people who need to belittle others. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436/17 "2018-08-29T13:27:18Z")
Well, the “Canuck Letter” – a hoax that said Sen. Edmund Muskie used to term to refer to those of French Canadian descent in Maine – was considered derogatory enough to derail his campaign in 1972. It was his reaction to it in a press conference that did the most damage, but the fact he called one to refute it shows it wasn’t acceptable there. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436/18 "2018-08-29T13:27:23Z")
I think using terms like “Canuck” or “Yank” or “Brit” are usually harmless, but still inappropriate in a formal, business setting. I would not use those terms in written communications to business colleagues. “Yank”, to me, sounds a bit antiquated, like I’m in a WWII movie or something. I’m not offended, just a bit amused. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436/19 "2018-08-29T14:07:13Z")
Of those three terms, I’d say “Brit” is the most appropriate one to use. After all, it’s just a shortening of “British”. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436/20 "2018-08-29T16:39:18Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Of those three terms, I’d say “Brit” is the most appropriate one to use. After all, it’s just a shortening of “British”. Like I keep telling Germs, it’s fine. Brit is not generally used in Britain; though Scot is totally fine, there is not an English or Welsh equivalent we use among ourselves, and that’s how most of us really identify. Brit isn’t offensive, but it kinda comes across as a bit careless and lazy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-canucks-a-derogatory-term/820436.md?page=2)