10 Truly Canadian Words

As with any region Canada has its own dialect and thanks to the Countries enormous size there are many more local uses of certain words throughout the Nation than almost anywhere on earth.  Canadians have a number of words that are unique to certain regions, and others that are common words but that have different meanings or uses.  Many sound a bit silly to outsiders or those who do not understand the intricacies of how the word should be used.  Here is ten of our favourite Truly Canadian Words, English words that is.

1. Loonie: The Canadian one dollar coin is commonly referred to as a loonie.  The word is derived from the use of the loon image that is usually incorporated into the design of the coin.

2. Pop:  Canadians commonly use the word as a generic name for carbonated sweet beverages or soft drinks.  Originally used as a short form of soda pop the word is now used to describe most soft drinks in Canada.

3. Timbit: A brand name of donut (doughnut) “hole” pastry made by Tim Hortons that has become a generic term for bite size donuts at many coffee shops nationwide.

4. Snowbirds: Is a word that has multiple meanings to Canadians.  It is used to describe older people (usually retired) who leave during winter months and take up residence in the southern US only to return to Canada when the weather warms in the spring.  Snowbirds is also the moniker used by the Canadian Armed Forces famed Air Demonstration team.

5. EH: Is a spoken interjection usually used to end a sentence or question (comparable to “huh”).  Canadians are world famous for over use of the word that can replace words like right, okay, please, maybe, thank you, and many more.

6. Canuck: A slang term for “Canadian” used in both the U.S. and Canada. The term is so common place that the National Hockey League team in Vancouver adopted it as their own and are known as the Vancouver Canucks.

7. Newfie: Used to describe a person who is from Newfoundland and Labrador.  generally used with light humour as part of “Newfie Jokes” (Canada’s equivalent to Dumb Blonde Jokes).

8. Regular: Is an example of a Canadian twist on a common word.  Anyone who has ever been on a Tims run knows that in Canada a regular is a coffee with one cream, one sugar.

9. Hoser:  A term used as an insult from one person to another.  While there are many stories of the words origin the most accepted involves the game of hockey.  Before the invention of the Zamboni ice cleaning machine, the losing team would have to hose down the ice after the game. Thus creating the term “hoser” to describe the losing club.

10. Bunnyhug: This a region specific term used in Saskatchewan. A Bunnyhug or Bunny Hug describes a hooded sweatshirt with or without a zipper that has a pocket in the front. Also refered to as a Hoodie in most other provinces

What are your favourite Canadian words?  What words did we miss? Let us know in the comments.