If You Don't Regularly Say 9 Of These 13 Words You Might Have To Turn In Your Canadian Citizenship
Giv'r down to the store for a two-four, eh! 🇨🇦
A Canada Day parade. Right: A store full of "two-fours."
If you grew up in Canada, there are probably a ton of things that you say that can only be heard in the Great White North.
From B.C. to Nunavut, to Newfoundland & Labrador, Canadians have tons of weird and unique ways of speaking that can make the untrained ear say "what?"
If you've lived in Canada there's a good chance that you've picked up a few of these yourself. And, if you haven't, well, can you say you actually lived the Canadian experience?
Whether you love the warmth of a bunnyhug, or end every sentence with "eh," you probably say a lot of these Canuck words. But if you don't, you might have to double-check your Canadianess.
Eh
The king of Canadian vocal ticks.
It can mean a question, "Where you going 'eh?" or just a punctuation, "Just down to the store, eh."
But it's the number one in Canadian speech for sure. And can be found from coast to coast to coast.
Giv'r
When you're about to go for it or just really go for it, you better giv'r!
The perfect word to use when you're out on the ice, out for a rip, or just trying to give it everything you've got.
It's the Canadian version of "Go for it!"
"Aboot"
This is one that's hard to hear unless your ear is tuned, at least for some.
Something in linguistics called Canadian Raising affects how Canucks say certain vowel sounds in words like "house," "doubt," and, of course, "about."
This Canadian Raising to Americans sounds like "aboot!"
Sorry
Yes, Canadians do have the stereotype of being uniquley polite, but even the way we say "sorry" is unique.
If you say "SORE-y" rather than "SAW-ry," then you're likely someone with a bit of Canada in your life.
Serviette
While old school, this is one that's a uniquely Canadian word. A serviette is what some Canadians, and nearly all Americans, call a napkin.
It wouldn't be Canada without a bit of French flair, eh?
Mans
It's got a Toronto origin, but it's slowly become a more common Canadaism. A mans is a plural of man, but also kind of not. It could be one guy or multiple.
It's honestly kind of vibe-based when mans say "mans."
Two-four
No, this isn't someone trying to count by twos. It's what Canadians call a 24-pack of beer.
Is it easier than saying "twenty-four?" Nope, not at all!
Hoser
A real Canadian "redneck" or "hillbilly."
A hoser is typically someone who drinks a lot of beer, drives in a big truck and is decked out in plaid and denim.
Often you'll find a hoser outside of the major cities, but they can be found nearly everywhere in Canada.
Dart
"Hey man, can I bum a dart off you?" is another way of saying "Can I have a cigarette, please?"
In a lot of parts of Canada, you often hear about darts with no bulls-eye in sight. And it's because a dart is another word for a cigarette!
Hang a Larry/Roger
You'll know a Canadian is giving you driving directions when you hear the following: "Okay, first hang a Larry, then a Roger."
While this might be scary if either of those is your name, it's actually just a substitute for left and right, respectively.
Chirping
No birds here.
To chirp someone is to insult and ridicule them. It's often you'll hear it on the ice that someone was getting "chirped," but chirping can happen anywhere.
You really hope it doesn't though.
Mickey
A mickey of booze is another way of describing a 375 ml bottle of alcohol.
So, if a Canadian tells you they just took down a whole mickey, don't assume they ate a beloved animated Disney character. Unless of course, they seem stone-cold sober.
Bunnyhug
While it sounds cute and adorable, this is actually the prairie/Saskatchewan word for a hoodie.
It's really not as fun as it sounds! Most would rather hug a bunny than just slap on a hoodie, at least one would think.