Friday, February 24, 2017

Canadian Expressions


I love Canada, our friendly neighbor up north. I've been there twice in the past two years and plan to return this Summer to visit Suzanne.

You may not know this but the Huffington Post (which you should read) has a special Canadian edition. It teaches me a lot about Canadian politics, culture and other stuff, plus it's fun to read.

An article just published notes that there are many expressions Canadians use which Americans won't recognize. For example, do you know what any of these phrases mean?

Double Double
Two-Four
Beaver Tails
Caesar (a drink)
Canadian Tuxedo
Toque
KD
Mickey
.CA

You can check 'em out here.

10 comments:

  1. Clearly I do not speak nor understand Canadian! LOL didn't know what any of those phrases meant! Haven't visited Canada since I was a Child and we lived in Upper Michigan for a few years. I remember it being very clean and I don't know why that stood out to me so much, but it did. Dawn... The Bohemian

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  2. So interesting! I can only identify the Canadian Tuxedo - denim on denim!

    Mary
    www.marymurnane.com

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  3. Canada is so beautiful- and the people are so nice!

    -Ashley
    Le Stylo Rouge

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  4. Hee hee, here you go, for your non-Canuck readers:
    - Double Double - what you order at Tim Hortons (besides delicious donuts): double cream, double sugar (Tim's adds these for you before you get your coffee, crazy, right??).
    - Two-Four- a pack of 24 beers. Related: a "half-sack" is a 6-pack. As in "I gotta pick me up a two-four if we're headed up to the cabin this weekend."
    - Beaver Tails - a large flat deep-fried dough piece (about the size and shape of a beaver's tail) sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. I never saw these until I was an adult - I think they are a made-up thing for tourists, not really a traditional thing.
    - Caesar (a drink) - like a Bloody Mary, only made with Mott's (a brand) Clamato, which sounds gross (it's clam juice mixed with tomato juice), but is really good in a drink. A spicy, savoury drink that is awesome for weekend brunches. It usually comes with a variation of a pickled green bean, pickled onion, buffalo mozzarella ball, etc. on a skewer. Pretty much a healthy breakfast if you are hungover!
    - Canadian Tuxedo - double denim, top and bottom (more of an Alberta thing - they are all cowboys in Alberta!).
    - Toque - what you guys call a beanie or a knitted cap. Those aren't beanies, they are toques! They have a name. It's pronounced to rhyme with "fluke." Toques are with or without pom-poms.
    - KD - Kraft Dinner! It's never been called Mac & Cheese here, always Kraft Dinner. If it's lower case "kd" then it's famous Canadian chanteuse kd lang (she is awesome). Add chopped-up wieners to your KD while it's cooking for a delish side dish.
    - Mickey - one of those small flat bottles of hard liquor. As opposed to a "twenty-sixer" which is a big bottle of hard liquor. As in "Hey, I got a mickey of Wiser's for Steve's party. I'm saving the twenty-sixer for Canada Day."
    - .CA - like .com, only for Canada.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the translation, Sheila! I love Clamato, another sign I should move to your country.

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  5. The only one I missed was a two four and that is because I've never drank beer. True story!

    You should try a Cesar when you are up again. They are really yummy and quite good if you are hungover. (Or so I've been told.)

    Also I would suggest that a Canadian Tuxedo is what I call a Texas Tuxedo ; )

    bisous
    Suzanne

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  6. I didn't have a clue until I read Sheila's comment!!

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  7. Ally, you and I share a love of Canada (and resident Canadian, Suzanne)! Thanks for posting this. I'm always eager to learn more about our friends up north.

    - Sherry

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