Canadian slang?

In Canada we have enough to do keeping up with two spoken languages without trying to invent slang, so we just go right ahead and use English for literature, Scotch for sermons and American for conversation. -- Stephen Leacock

Although Canadians are influenced far more by Americans than they want to admit, Canadians have their own words that have no literal translation in any other language.

Note that not all Canadians use all of these terms. This guide is intended to prepare you to know what these terms mean if you hear them; it does not guarantee that these terms will be understood everywhere in Canada.

1. Become familiar with following general terms:
   
   
   • Deadly - a reaction to something done "over the top"; overdone; excessive. Can also be used as a response to something done very well.
   • Loonie - the Canadian one-dollar coin.
   • Toonie - the Canadian two-dollar coin.
   • Brown Bread - whole wheat bread.
   • Homo Milk - whole milk
   • Dooryard - front garden.
   • Wicked - something or someone amazing. i.e. "Cheryl is wicked at her job"
   • Beauty - expression used to refer to something done extremely well.
   • Double-Double - said when ordering a coffee; indicating two creams and two sugars.
   • Growl - to yell.
   • Runners - athletic sport shoes.
   • Gitch - tighty-whities.
   • Longjohns - long, thin waffle-knit thermal underwear used in extreme cold.
   • Timbits - the doughnut hole-like small pastries available at Tim Hortons.
   • Brutal- to be very bad at something.
   • Chesterfield - a couch.
   • Eh - word you add to the end of a sentence, to ask for a response of agreement or disagreement, similar in meaning to "don't you think?", or "right?" (ex. "Looks like a storm comin' in, eh?") It is also sometimes used with "I know", and in that case it doesn't really mean anything. ("Wow, the Oilers really kicked butt tonight!" -"I know, eh?")
   • Gawn- to showoff, or to force.
   • Two-Four - (pronounced "Two-Fer") a case of beer, generally a 24-pack.
   • Touque - A knit cap usually worn in winter.
   • Click- a kilometre.
   • Canadian bacon - back bacon cured in maple syrup. Not the ham that Americans commonly refer to as Canadian bacon.
   • Francophone - Someone who speaks French as a first language, as opposed to an Anglophone, who speaks English as a first language.
   • Housecoat - type of bathrobe you can wear to get the morning paper, and not worry about being seen by the neighbours.
   • Kerfuffle - Scottish word referring to a flurry of agitation, as in, "There was quite a kerfuffle after Mike asked for the project three days early."
   • States - The USA is almost always referred to as the States, except in writing, when it becomes the US.
   • Bathroom - Bathroom and washroom are used interchangeably to refer to a place where you would find toilets.
   • Soda vs Pop - Canadians drink pop. Ask for a soda and you'll get soda water (Especially in BC and Ontario).
   • Pencil Crayon- coloured pencil.
   • Joggers- Sweat pants.
2. Learn the local slang for the area you're going to:
   
   
   • Chinook - From the aboriginal word for the language of trade used by First Nations people. Refers to a warm westerly "trade" wind that blows east from British Columbia over the Rocky Mountains and blankets the Alberta foothills with out-of-season warmth, changing the temperature rapidly.
   • How's She Bootin'er? - Atlantic Canadian equivalent of "How's it going?"
   • Whadda'yat? - Newfoundland term meaning "How are you doing?"
   • Bunnyhug - Saskatchewanian term for a hooded sweatshirt.
   • Poutine - (pronounced poo-teen) gravy poured over cheese curds and French fries. Originated in Quebec.
   • Caisse populaire - kind of co-operative bank, found mostly in Quebec. Popularly known as a caisse pop.
3. Look out for the following derogatory terms:
   
   
   • Hoser- derogatory term meaning loser. In the old days, the team that lost the hockey game would have to hose down the rink, and hence the reference "hoser".
   • Newfie - derogatory term for a person from Newfoundland and Labrador. The term is primarily used in "Newfie jokes," the typical Canadian ethnic joke. Many Newfoundlanders use the term with pride amongst themselves, not taking offense to it when used without intention to insult.
   • Frog - derogatory term for French Canadians.
   • Square head - derogatory term for Anglophone Canadians. Mostly used in Quebec.
   • Quebecois - Official term for people living in Quebec, mostly in reference to Francophones. "Quebeckers" (often pronounced K-beckers) is often used by Angolophones.
   • Gorby- derogatory term for tourists

• Generally, Canadian pronunciation is almost identical to American pronunciation in northern states, especially in Ontario except for using much softer vowels.
• Quebec Anglophones have freely adopted French words, such as autoroute for highway and dépanneur for corner store, as well as French constructions, such as take a decision and shut a light. In Quebec, people take the Metro instead of the subway, belong to syndicates instead of unions and attend reunions instead of meetings. Many Anglophones in Quebec are bilinguals and so are a lot of Francophones in Montreal.
• In Atlantic Canada, accents are more influenced by Scottish and Irish sounds, especially in Cape Breton and in Newfoundland. Newfoundland has hundreds of distinctive words, many of them derived from its fishing industry. One common Newfoundlandism is outport, meaning a small coastal community, which brings us to the endless rivalry between townies (people from St. John's and Central towns like Grand Falls-Windsor and Gander) and baymen (people from outports).
• In the Ottawa Valley, the accent is heavily influenced by the Irish who settled the area. The accent here is even more close-mouthed than it is elsewhere in Canada.