Uniquely made-in-Canada
Dictionary of Canadianisms’ goal to assemble a time-tested catalogue of words invented or used here
For the first time since 1967, there is a new edition of the Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles. Assembled over years by an international team of linguists, the dictionary’s goal is to assemble a time-tested catalogue of words that were either invented in Canada or are “distinctively characteristic of Canadian usage.”
The National Post rounded up the highlights. Below, discover a madein-Canada kaleidoscope of racial slurs, drinking terms and words that sound dirty but aren’t.
Ghost car
Countries all around the world feature unliveried police cars, but Canada is the only one to assign these vehicles with the magnificent term of “ghost car.” Everywhere else, they go by the more pedestrian terms “undercover car” or “unmarked car.”
Fat City
A nickname for Ottawa. The term is somewhat ironic, because Ottawa is actually a relatively fit place, what with all those high-paid bureaucrats buying kale and gym memberships. But it refers to the classical usage of obesity as a sign of wealth. While every other city may need to tighten its belt at times of recession, Ottawa’s tax dollars keep it “fat.”
Corporate welfare bum
This is a rare political term that is beloved by both NDPers and Conservatives; both of whom purport to hate “corporate welfare bums.” NDP leader David Lewis appears to have invented it and — despite the best efforts of former U.S. presidential candidate Ralph Nader — the term continues to be used almost exclusively in Canadian political debates.
Cube van
Another excellent Canadian term for a vehicle that the rest of the world is too stubborn to adopt. A cube van refers to the type of two-axle moving truck typically rented out by U-Haul. Incredibly, online analyses by dictionary editors found almost no mention of this term outside Canada.
CPR strawberries
A word reminiscent of the days when it was really hard to get fresh fruit across much of Canada — particularly when all your groceries came by way of the CPR. From the 1880s to the Great Depression, workers sick of prunes began trying to brighten their meal choices by referring to them as just another variety of strawberry.
Bylaw
Easily one of the most surprising entries on the list. While “by-law” originated as a British term, only Canada has taken it up as an almost universal descriptor of a communityspecific law. The rest of the English world has municipal laws, to be sure, but they refer to them as “regulations” or “ordinances” or subsections of a “code.”
Gretzky effect
The dictionary is utterly filled with hockey terms that, while not necessarily Canadian, are considered Canadianisms simply because we have so many hockey fans. The Gretzky effect refers to how Wayne Gretzky’s trade to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988 helped to popularize hockey in California and other warm-weather U.S. states. Notably, this appears to be a skill unique to the Great One. While English football great David Beckham was similarly exported to Los Angeles in 2007, North America still refuses to care about soccer.
Barley sandwich
A nickname for beer, often employed when the beverage is being used to substitute for a proper meal. This term is almost never seen outside Canada, possibly because they have healthier drinking habits — or are at least more direct about it.
Molson muscle
Another clever term invented to smooth over Canada’s national drinking problem. A Molson muscle is a beer belly, and the term is almost certainly not endorsed by the Molson Coors Brewing Company.
Had the biscuit
Deep sixed. Bought the farm. Gave up the ghost. The term “had the biscuit” doesn’t need to specifically refer to death, it just refers to the state of being finished, spent or done with something. There is speculation that the term originated in the First World War, when dying soldiers were placed on “biscuits,” or field mattresses.
Cyberspace
Not an exclusively Canadian term, to be sure, but it was invented here. Author William Gibson was in Vancouver when he first included it in his 1982 short story Burning Chrome. However, Canada can lay claim to monopolizing another “cyber” word: Cyberbullying.
Beaver fever
It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to imagine a sexual connotation for this word. In fact, as IMDB informs us, there are at least five X-rated movies with this exact title. However, in Canada, beaver fever is a decidedly unsexy parasitic disease transmitted in part thanks to beavers. The term is not exclusive to Canada, but seems to be in wider usage by simple virtue of us getting sick from beavers more often.
Crawfish
This was a slur against Anglo Canadians used in some corners of Quebec. The intent of the insult is not known (Anglos eat a lot of crawfish?), but no less than Quebec premier Réne Lévesque said in interviews that the term was a feature of his Gaspé childhood.
Peasouper
So in response, Canadian Anglos referred to Réne Lévesque and his friends as “peasoupers.” These are hurtful terms, to be sure, but Canada can at least take pride that they merely seem to be based on a group’s particular food preferences. In the vast global catalogues of insults and slurs, it usually gets way worse.
French French
Canada, of course, proudly has our own, better, French people than the ones in Europe. Naturally, this has necessitated an Anglo term to differentiate someone who comes from Rimouski rather than from Avignon. In French-speaking areas of Canada, meanwhile, the usual term is “French from France” or “those damned French.”
Idiot string
A string that is used to attach a possession to one’s body to prevent it from being lost. While this could conceivably refer to wallet chains or corded key holders, Canadians usually use “idiot string” to identify a length of string used to bind two mittens to one another.