Canadá X USA: gente, gente, não é que o Canadá é diferente...?

Canadianisms

(contrasted and compared with the US)

EXPRESSIONS

"Eh?" Don't you think? Conversational device that allows an unconfrontational canadian to turn a statement into a poll of opinion.

Canuck nickname for a Canadian

clicks slang for kilometres or kilometres per hour

hoser unsophisticated person

keener boot-licker, brown-noser, suck-up

kerfuffle commotion; flurry of agitation

Molson muscle potbelly (Molson is a Canadian brand of beer)

lineup line of people; queue

"for sure" definitely

to be on pogey to be on welfare

mickey 375 ml. (13 oz.) bottle of liquor

two-four case of beer containing 24 bottles

arse, bum one's hind quarters.

WE CALL IT, THEY CALL IT

Food

backbacon Canadian bacon

icing sugar powdered sugar

whitener powdered non-dairy creamer put in coffee or tea

processed cheese american cheese

chocolate bar candy bar.

brown bread whole wheat bread

homo milk whole milk

rye & ginger canadian whiskey and gingerale

Academic

write (a test) take a test

invigilate (an exam) to proctor an exam

tutorial recitation

marking (a test) grading a test

public school elementary school

supply teacher substitute teacher

college community college

Other

zed (Z) zee (Z)

chesterfield couch

the bill what Canadians ask for in a restaurant (Americans ask for the check)

eavestrough rain gutter on the eaves (edge of the roof) of a house

elastic rubber band

girl guides girl scouts

housecoat robe or bathrobe

hydro electricity

serviette paper napkin

tap faucet or spigot

washroom bathroom

track pants sweat pants

runners tennis shoes

muskoka chair large, usually wooden deck chair

postal code zip code

THINGS YOU'LL ONLY FIND IN CANADA

Food

beavertail deep-fried dessert pastry resembling a beaver's tail

poutine French fries covered with cheese curds and gravy

ketchup chips believe it or not

vinegar on fries especially fish & chips

butter tart a small, pecan-pie-like tart

nanaimo bar a multilayer brownie and icing

tortiere a french-canadian meat pie

milk in a bag comes in a group of 3 bags

Brands

Smarties something like M&Ms

Crispy Crunch chocolate bar

Coffee Crisp chocolate bar

Caramilk chocolate bar

Shreddies cereal

Other

5-pin bowling a smaller ball, and only 5 pins---great for kids and drunks

mountie member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (like the FBI)

toonie (or twoonie) Canadian two-dollar coin (since 1996)

toque (or tuque) woollen, usually pointed cap worn in the winter

MEDIA THAT IS POPULAR IN CANADA BUT NOT IN THE US

David Wilcox not the american folk singer, the canadian blues guitarist and poet

The Tragically Hip sell out multi-day festivals in canada, play 100-person bars in the US

Bare Naked Ladies after many years, broke into the US on the "american pie" soundtrack

Maclean and Maclean two low-brow Nova Scotian comedian/musicians

* this is far from complete

OTHER INTERESTING DIFFERENCES

The Canadian 'accent' can be heard most easily in the following words: out, about, house, and others with 'ou'. For example, canadian pronounciation of the word 'out' is like 'e' as in 'pet' followed by 'oot' as in 'boot', sounding like 'e'+'oot'. American pronounciation of 'out' is more like 'ow' as in 'cow', sounding like 'ow'+'t'. Other words often pronounced differenctly are 'pop', and 'roof'. Of course, the trademark 'eh' at the end of a statement is a dead giveaway.

Canadian spellings can also cause confusion: colour vs color, cheque vs check, centre vs center, etc.

Canada uses the metric system, although canadians quote their height and wieght in feet/inches and pounds. Industry, for the most part, still uses imperial units.

For measuring temperature, Canada uses celcius (rather than fahrenheit).

Although there are many differences in prices of things between US and Canada, two that stand out are the after-exchange lower prices of electronics in the US, and the far lower prices of CDs in Canada. Also, there is a pricing inversion for CDs such that in the US the older CDs are the cheapest, while in Canada it is the newest releases that are usually on sale.

The drinking age in Canada is 19 in most provinces, and 18 in Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec. Note that the provinces where it is 18 alternate as you go west to east. Coincidence?

Soda/pop is made with corn syrup in the US, and sugar in Canada---this changes the taste significantly.

It's been said that Canadians are simply disarmed Americans with health care.

Some of these 'Canadianisms' are of British origin, and can be found there as well.

Football rules: size of our footballs, football fields, and one less down

Canadian inventions: ski-doos, jet-skis, velcro, zippers, insulin, penicillin, zambonis, the telephone, short wave radios, robertson screws (square hole)