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This man is wearing a toque.
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Wednesday, July 1, is Canada Day.
2015-07-01
The holiday is essentially the Canadian version of America's Independence Day.
It's a celebration of our confederation as a country within the British Empire in 1867.
So if you see a Canadian on Wednesday give them a high-five.
Now, it's not always easy to spot a Canadian in the US. For the most part, we sound pretty similar. We share a lot of values with Americans and can identify with the same cultural references.
But we do have our own vernacular, and there's a lot more to it than "ehs" and funny "abouts."
Here's a list of Canadian slang words and expressions that many Americans would not recognize:
Keener: A person who is extremely eager or keen. Used interchangeably with terms like "brownnoser" and "overachiever" among Canadian schoolchildren.
REUTERS/Peter Jones
Mickey: A 375 ml bottle of alcohol. Usually shaped like a flask but slightly larger, they fit perfectly in a lady's purse.
Homo milk: Homogenized milk, also known as whole milk. In Canada, it is very normal for a parent or spouse to ask you to pick up some homo milk on your way home.
Toonie (or twoonie): You already know what the loonie is, so we'll skip right over that one. A toonie is a $2 coin. It's two-colored and made out of aluminum bronze and nickel.
Holiday: Canadians use the term "holiday" interchangeably with "vacation." E.g., "When are you taking your holiday this year?" "I think I might go on holiday in July."
A "pull" versus a "boot": Both terms used to describe someone who is of drinking age who buys alcohol for those who are under-aged. In British Columbia and Alberta, the term "boot" is used. In Saskatchewan, the term is "pull." Neither is prominent in Eastern Canada.
Bunnyhug: Used exclusively in Saskatchewan to refer to a hooded sweatshirt, or hoodie. But only in Saskatchewan. The rest of the country finds it as funny as you do.
"Hey" vs. "eh": In some parts of Western Canada, the term "hey" is used more commonly than "eh." Importantly, Canadians do not intersperse either word at random throughout sentences. Both are used like the word "right" at the end of a sentence.
