Cross-Canada Phrasebook
The Cross-Canada Phrasebook began as a word-hoard drawn from vernacular English as spoken in four Canadian regions, but soon readers from all over the country (and beyond) were writing to the Phrasebook with examples of more and more ways of saying things Canadian. The Phrasebook has since taken on a life of its own, and will be available in its entirety, eventually, right here. Until then, you can browse through suggestions for the Phrasebook here and (or) you can send suggestions to the Phrasebook from wherever you are, right now.
Selections from the original Phrasebook:
| Toronto | Vancouver | Cape Breton | Dundurn, SK | ||||
| beauties (tiny marbles) | pee-wees | pee-wees | babies | ||||
| Canadian content | Ontario-based | Ontario-based | That's us, eh? | ||||
| croaks (big marbles) | cobs | crockies | boulders | ||||
| much more | way more | far more | lots more | ||||
| rubber | eraser | — | — | ||||
| shelling out | trick or treating | trick or treating | Halloweening | ||||
| skip off (school) | skip out | skip | skipping | ||||
| soldier | pongo (esp. Van. Island) | militia | grunt | ||||
| The Star | The Sun | The Post | the paper | ||||
| stripper | peeler | exotic dancer | shoe modeller | ||||
| supply teacher | sub, substitute teacher or stubby toot | sub | who the hell is that? | ||||
| The Sun | The Province | The Herald | The National Enquirer | ||||
| housemate | roommate | roommate | roomie | ||||
| lumberjack | logger | pulp cutter | in the bush | ||||
| cold (-5°) | cold (5°) | cold (-20°) | cold (-40°) | ||||
 | |||||||
| Toronto | Vancouver | Cape Breton | Dundurn, SK | ||||
| cafe au lait | latte au mug latte in a thermal mug | — | what the hell is that? | ||||
| car-a-mel | carml | care-a-mel | carml | ||||
| case | two-four | two-four | two boxes | ||||
| half case | case | dozen | box | ||||
| micro-brewery | cottage brewery | bootlegger | what the hell is that? | ||||
| preserving | canning | preserving | putting up | ||||
| regular (coffee with cream and sugar) | regular (black) | regular (coffee with cream and sugar) | plain (black), also between small and large | ||||
| roll | bun | — | — | ||||
| six-pack | half sack | just a few | six in a bag | ||||
 | |||||||
| Toronto | Vancouver | Cape Breton | Dundurn, SK | ||||
| Beckers | Macs, or 7-11 | Stubberts | Petro-Donna’s | ||||
| corner store | Chinese grocery | dairy | Petro-Donna’s | ||||
| cottage | cabin | bungalow | shack | ||||
| down East | the Maritimes | the mainland | the old country (east of Winnipeg) | ||||
| dunDAS Street | DUNdas Street | DUNdas Street | where the hell is that? | ||||
| eltswhere | elsewhere | elsewhere | somewhere else | ||||
| Loblaws | Safeway | Sobey's | Petro-Donna's | ||||
| out West (of the lakehead) | out West (Alberta) | Fort McMurray | the coast | ||||
| public school | elementary school | grade school | school | ||||
| roadhouse | pub | tavern | bar | ||||
| ski hill (actually a hill) | ski hill (actually a mountain) | ski hill (a small elevation) | what the hell is that? | ||||
| strip mall | mall or plaza | mall | Petro-Donna's | ||||
| up north (Barrie) | up north (up north) | down north (Ingonish) | — | ||||
| Upper Canada (i.e. Ontario) | out East, or (if speaker has family in Ontario): back East | the mainland | those Eastern bastards | ||||
 | |||||||
| Toronto | Vancouver | Cape Breton | Dundurn, SK | ||||
| flip-flops | thongs | flip-flops | thongs | ||||
| gitch | gaunch | — | gotchees | ||||
| gotchee pull | gaunch pull | — | wedgie | ||||
| gym clothes | gym strip | gym clothes | baggies | ||||
| raincoat | rain gear | sysco suit | what the hell is that? | ||||
| tocque | tocque | tuque | tocque pit cap (mining district) | ||||
Letters from the on-going Geist Phrasebook
Dear Geist,
– Anne Miles, Gibsons, BC
You know those sweat tops with a hood and a pouch on the front? In Vancouver, where I grew up, we called them kangaroo jackets. My friends from Manitoba call them hoodies (makes sense). Now I live in Saskatoon, where people call them bunny hugs. I don't get it.
– Brent Trickett, Saskatoon
As a child in Calgary, I used to play a ball game known as Pig in the Middle, which is your standard “keep-away” style game. When I moved to Toronto, I discovered that those who grew up here played the same game but called it Monkey in the Middle. I have since polled friends across the nation and have found that the “Pig” appellation is used by all children playing west of Manitoba.
– Jeff Watson, Toronto
A co-worker and I have been at odds over a benign classroom instrument. She recently moved to Vancouver from Ontario and she says markers, whereas to me (a lass born and bred in B.C.) they are surely felt pens or felts! Any insight on this is most appreciated, as I would hate for this to cause any more confusion.
– Jennifer Hill, Vancouver
I have a solution for the co-workers who have a difference of opinion on whether to say felt pens/felts (Vancouver) or markers (Ontario). Move to Winnipeg! Ever since these things came on the market, we here in the hub of civilization have called them felt markers.
– Merle Menard, Winnipeg
Since I moved to the U.K. about nine years ago, numerous people have picked up on my Torona phraseology. A stranger once guessed correctly that I am from Ontario solely on the basis of hearing me say higgledy-piggledy. Isn’t that term used everywhere?
– Andrew Morgan, London, UK
