24 Canadian Words Floridians Just Don’t Get
If you manage to pull yourself out of sunny Florida to visit our neighbors in the cold-weather North, you might have a hard time following a Canadian conversation.
Words like “gitch,” “gonger,” and even “double-double” will undoubtedly leave Floridians scratching their heads. How many of these Canadian terms have you heard?
1: Keener
Keener refers to someone who’s very keen or eager. It’s usually used in a not-so-nice way and could be synonymous with “brown-noser.”
2: Chirping
Chirping is Eastern Canadian slang for making fun of someone. In Western Canada, they say “beaking.”
3: Caesar
If you order a Caesar in Canada, you probably won’t get a salad. A Caesar is a type of drink similar to an American Bloody Mary.
4: Toque
On a cold winter’s day, your Canadian friend might don a toque. That’s the Canadian way of saying “beanie.”
5: KD
According to Global News Report, Canadians love Kraft Mac N’ Cheese even more than Americans. They consume 55% more of the cheesey pasta than their American counterparts and they don’t have time to say it’s full name. Instead they call it KD, short for Kraft Dinner.
6: Parkade
In Canada, you don’t park your car in a parking garage. Instead, they call it a parkade.
7: Timbits
Tim Hortons is the largest restaurant chain in Canada and they sell a popular breakfast treat called Timbits. In the U.S., we call them donut holes.
8: Serviette
Calling it a napkin is so very American. In Canada, the paper squares you use to wipe your hands and face are called serviettes.
9: Gitch
Gitch is another term for men’s underwear, particularly white briefs or what Americans call tighty whities. Canadians also use the terms gotch and gonch to describe the undergarment.
10: Pencil Crayons
For Americans, the term pencil crayons is incredibly confusing, given pencils and crayons are two very different things. In Canada, pencil crayons refer to standard colored pencils.
11: Dart
Dart is slang for cancer stick in Canada. So, if your Canadian friend asks you to meet them out back for a dart, you can rest assured they don’t intend to throw sharp-pointed projectiles at a round board.
12: Gonger
A gonger refers to a situation that got out of hand in a funny way. Sometimes, it can also be used to describe a party that went wild.
13: Larry or Roger
If a Canadian is trying to give you directions, they might say, “Hang a Larry” (or a Roger). These are terms for left and right.
14: Homo Milk
In Canada, homo milk is short for homogenized milk. If you hear someone say it, they’re usually referring to whole milk you buy at the grocery store.
15: Two-Four
Picking up a two-four is a must if you’re hosting a party. This Canadian slang term refers to a 24-pack of beer.
16: Champagne Birthday
In America, when you turn the age of your birthday date, we call it your golden birthday. In Canada, it’s your champagne birthday.
17: Chinook
If you live in the Pacific Northwest, you probably think Chinook is a type of salmon. If you’re into military planes, it’s a Canadian military helicopter. And if you’re simply Canadian, chinook describes unseasonably warm winds.
18: Eavestroughs
Cleaning out the rain gutters is a chore no one particularly likes doing. In Canada, though, you get to call them eavestroughs, which is at least more fun to say.
19: Garburator
A garburator is a garbarge dispoal in Canadian slang. Though garbage disposal is a slightly more descriptive term, garburator seems to better capture the essence of the under-sink machine.
20: Double-Double
Depending on where you live in America, a double-double might be a type of hamburger or it could be a basketball achievement. In Canada, it’s a popular Tim Hortons drink order that consists of a coffee with two milks and two sugars.
21: Runners
What Americans call sneakers or sometimes, tennis shoes, Canadians call runners. Given that they’re often made for running, this Canadian slang term makes perfect sense.
22: Chesterfield
In Canada, they have chesterfields not sofas. A chesterfield is a specific style of couch with a tufted back and rolled armrests. It became so popular in Canada that its name became synonymous with all couches.
23: Pogie
Pogie refers to being on welfare or social assistance. It may come from the British slang term “pogey” which means poorhouse.
24: Molson Muscle
What Americans call a beer belly, Canadians call molson muscle. Molson is a brand of Canadian beer, which makes this humorous term more understandable.
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