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Happy Birthday Canada!
It's all in the name: As Canada turns 137 today, I thought it'd be cool to explore what we could have been named, from the Canadian Government website, and provide some words that are unique to Canada and often confuse our neighbours to the south, from An American's Guide to Canada.
Although time has indelibly imprinted "Canada" on the map of the northern half of the continent of North America, numerous other names were suggested for the proposed confederation in 1867. Among these were: Albertsland, Albionora, Borealia, Britannia, Cabotia, Colonia, Efisga (a combination of the first letters of England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, and Aboriginal lands), Hochelaga, Norland, Superior, Transatlantia, Tuponia (an acrostic for the United Provinces of North America), and Victorialand.
While the Dictionary of Canadianisms lists ten possible explanations for the word (ranging from Spanish Acan Nada to a form of Canara or Canata, a place name in southern India), the generally accepted origin may be traced to the writings of Jacques Cartier in 1536. While sailing up the St. Lawrence River, Cartier noticed that the Indians referred to their settlements as kanata, which, from its repetition, the French took to be the name of the entire country. Such it was destined to become in 1867.
My personal favourite alternate name is Superior. Wouldn't it be great to say you're from a place called Superior?
Words and phrases unique to Canada
fin
Five dollars, in a bill or coins. May be a local Montréal term. "Spot me a fin, eh?"
loonie
A dollar. The Canadian $1 coin has a loon (the bird) on the back.
pogey
Unemployment benefits. "I'm getting pogey" means, as the British would say, "I'm on the dole."
toque
Rhymes with "kook." A kind of hat, ubiquitous in wintertime.
no-see-um
small biting insect
frog
A derogatory anglophone term for Quebecers.
poutine (pron. poo-TEEN)
Quebecois specialty. French fries covered in cheese curds and gravy. Hyurgh.
Rockets
Small, chalky candies packaged in rolls wrapped in clear plastic.
Shreddies
A brand of breakfast cereal, vaguely resembling Chex.
Smarties
Not the ones you're used to seeing in the US. In Canada, Smarties are a candy resembling M&Ms. They do melt in your hand, and they're a lot sweeter. Smarties conoisseurs eat the red ones last.
Timbits
Do(ugh)nut holes from Tim Horton's. Several people with dark senses of humo(u)r have pointed out to me that these were introduced shortly after Tim Horton, a famous and beloved hockey player who started the chain, was killed in a car accident.
klick
Kilometer, or kilometer per hour. "Better slow down, Vern, the limit's 90 klicks here. Hand me the bottle."
pissed
drunk (not generally used to mean "angry," as it is in the States).
Molson muscle
Not a drink itself, but the potbelly one gets from drinking too much beer.
stubby
A short-necked, fat beer bottle once used by Canadian breweries. Very hard to find now.
Swish
A kind of liquor made from putting water into barrels that have previously held some sort of alcohol (whisky, brandy, whatever) and letting the alcohol leach out of the wood. Drunk by university students who like to go blind.
twenty-sixer
A bottle of liquor containing 26 ounces. Sometimes called a "two-six" or a "twixer." This term is outdated; the equivalent bottle now contains 750 milliliters.
two-four
A package containing twenty-four bottles of beer.
Anyway, Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canucks and try not to drink too many two-fours, eh?
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