Canada Day is July 1st. In celebration, I’ll be posting some blogs dedicated to being Canadian. Today, I’ll introduce some truely Canadian words:
- Tuque. The woolen cap you wear on your head for most of the year. If you are lucky, and it’s handmade, it will sometimes be decorated with a pom-pom.
- Hoser. Introduced by Bob and Doug Mackenzie. “Like the very similar but less well-known term hosehead, it originally referred to farmers of the Canadian prairies, who would siphon gas from farming vehicles with a hose during the Great Depression of the 1930s.” Interesting.
- Eh?. I simply cannot believe how much we use this word. Listen to your friends and colleagues. Sometimes, I stream radio broadcasts from CBC Yukon, and I even hear the radio announcers use it. Fabulous.
- Poutine. The sticky, gooey, mess of fries, packaged gravy, and a shitload of mozzarella cheese. Incredibly tasty after a day of snowboarding. Usually one of the only edible options at the ski hills in Quebec! Also found in the chip wagons that compete for clients on the streets of Ottawa–and if you are lucky–along the frozen Rideau Canal in the winter.
Some phrases Canadians will understand:
- Did you plug in the car last night?.
- Minus 50 degrees Centigrade.
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