Sarah Quinlan

My sister in law
Mother of 1 and 1/2 (due in May)
Biological Scientist
Adjunct Professor
and
CANADIAN

She's a fun gal. I enjoy hanging out with her, but don't get the chance very often. She lives on the East coast while we bake here in the Southwest.

I do enjoy her blog though and often find really neat articles she has written about all kinds of interesting things from information about the H1N1 virus, to crazy facts about animals.

One recent writing of hers I found cleared up a lot of things for me. You see, my hubby (her brother) is Canadian as well and there have been times I've been a little puzzled with some of the language he uses. It really IS a foreign country!

So, in the event you travel to or meet a Canadian, I thought I'd share some of her wisdom with you!

Canuck- Derogatory term for Canadians, which we have heartily embraced.

Cowtown- The city of Calgary (pronounced Cal-Gary)

Chesterfield- A couch. Granted, only my grandparents said this, but everyone in Canada knows what it is.

Chinook- A warm westerly wind that blows east from British Columbia over the Rocky Mountains rapidly warming the temperature in the foothills.

Click- Slang for kilometer. Yes, the metric system, people!

Eh?- Has unlimited uses, but tends to mean "don't you think," or "Huh." Not exclusively Canadian, but one of the most popular slang terms we are known for, so hey, we'll keep it.

Garburator- Garbage disposal.

Homo milk- No, not the flamboyant version of milk, just whole milk

Hosed- Pissed, or angry

Hoser- Lived in Canada for 19 years and never really figured out what this means. Some insult I'm sure. The Canadian loser, I suppose.

Hydro- Refers to electricity...when my mom mentions her "hydro bill," I laugh.

Kraft dinner- Kraft macaroni and cheese

Loonie- The Canadian dollar coin

Mickie- Pint of hard liquor

Mountie- Member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Newfie- Derogatory term for someone from Newfoundland

Pencil crayons- Colored pencils. This one I still use. Can't seem to make the switch.

Pepsi- Derogatory term for French Canadians

Pop- Soda, although some regions of the USA use this too!

Poutine- The delicious combination of French fries, gravy and melted cheese curds. YUM.

Runners- Refers to any kind of athletic footwear. Sneakers and tennis shoes still sound funny to me!

Take off- "Get outta here!"

Timbit- A donut hole from Tim Horton's.

Timmie's- Tim Hortons restaurant, virtually on every street corner, Canada's prostitute.

Toonie- The Canadian two dollar coin. I hope we don't come up with the five dollar coin...a Foonie? Really? Like we don't get made fun of enough.

Touque- A winter hat

Track pants/suit- Sweat pants

Transport truck- A semi, or tractor trailer. Have only heard my mom say this though.

Two-four- Slang for a 24 pack of beer

Washroom- A bathroom. Makes sense. I don't see any baths in most public washrooms.

Zed- The letter Z

Zellers- a department store, much like Kmart

So there you have it. The next time you speak to my hubby you won't need an interpreter!!

Thanks, Sarah!