A Typology of Canadianisms
119 comments
·July 9, 2025throwawaymaths
as someone who learned continental french, when i visited quebec i saw "melon d'eau" and i nearly lost it.
nucleardog
Surprising one for me was "all dressed" as a term for, e.g., a pizza with all the toppings.
Apparently it's a direct translation from French and is pretty exclusive to Quebec English and the Easternmost part of Ontario (which is heavily French).
And Saskatchewan. Which the site notes is "a bit of a mystery".
Also found "parkade" interesting--apparently it's still much more heavily used in Western Canada, and they attribute that to it having been "seeded" by some Hudson's Bay advertisements run at their original 6 locations all in Western Canada.
Some other words/terms that surprised me: renoviction, gong show, kerfuffle, off-sale, stagette
jdougan
I (West Coast) pretty much entirely associate "all-dressed" with potato chips.
asplake
Kerfuffle is British - quite common here. 19th century Scots apparently!
SecretDreams
Old, but good, CBC documentary on this type of thing:
https://youtu.be/eIoTpkM5N64?si=FnGploZrLZ1XRVXO&utm_source=...
c-hendricks
The Works is usually a the name for the pizza. Chiming in for the east coast, all dressed is chips.
tomjakubowski
The Works is pretty common in the US, too. Pizza and sandwich toppings
nucleardog
Yeah, mostly came as a surprise to me because I've spent most of my time in Saskatchewan and Ontario near the Quebec border. I somehow managed to spend my entire life bouncing around Canada and never spend much time anywhere where "all dressed pizza" didn't exist, even though it's apparently a highly-specific term.
marctrem
In Quebec French we use “toute garnie” to refer to a pizza with red sauce, mozzarella, mushrooms, green peppers and pepperonis.
fracus
That is what OP said. "All dressed" is a direct translation from French.
olalonde
Yes, they both refer to the same pizza. Many francophones actually say "une pizza all dress" - it refers to that specific combination of toppings though, not literally every available topping.
chongli
Here in Ontario English we call that pizza deluxe!
nucleardog
Depends where in Ontario!
I'm in Ontario but in a heavily French area (i.e., East of Ottawa) and "toute garni / all dressed" is common. You'll find it places like Ottawa as well given the proximity to Quebec and French population.
embedded_hiker
There are several parking structures called "parkades" in Salem Oregon.
pjot
A “fully dressed” poboy in New Orleans is one with all the fixing’s
nucleardog
Huh, that makes sense given "all dressed" came from French and New Orleans' French history.
I'm not sure why we both ended up with "dressed" given the French is literally "all garnishes / toppings" or "wholly garnished / topped". I'm sure some linguist could probably do a dissertation on this or something. And hopefully also cover how Saskatchewan ended up with using "all dressed" because I'm really curious about that outlier.
joshdavham
I wish they would've explained the term "soaker" a bit better as it's such a Canadian thing.
Basically, when the snow starts to melt in the spring, you'll sometimes accidentally step on some thin ice that leads directly to a puddle underneath and soak your boot. It sucks! Also, we would often call these "booters" in Manitoba, where I'm from.
chongli
Wow! I remember getting soakers as a kid! I had no idea it was a Canadianism!
SecretDreams
In Southern Ontario, it feels like it's soakers all winter long!
michaelmior
As a Canadian who married an American and now lived in the US, I was surprised how many things I say are Canadianisms without me having realized. There have been a lot of (minor) miscommunications because I didn't realize I was saying something only Canadians understand. Like when I told her that my parents' hydro had been out all day.
throwawaymaths
do people look at you puzzled when you say "keener"?
Forricide
I always assumed we just called it hydro in BC because so much of the power comes from hydroelectric, but then I moved and it seems we call it hydro everywhere no master source..?
retrac
Hydroelectric was historically even more dominant in Canada than today. Even in places that aren't majority hydro now, they were historically, like in Ontario and Alberta.
Also the legal name of the utility company was probably a big influence. Manitoba Hydro. Hydro Quebec. In Ontario it was, until 1999, the "Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario", shortened normally to "Ontario Hydro". To this day you can find manhole covers emblazoned with TORONTO HYDRO-ELECTRIC SYSTEM on them, though Toronto and Ontario both run mostly on nuclear power these days.
standeven
I think it’s primarily BC and Ontario. And maybe a French version in Quebec.
skipants
I think it's pretty common in Western Canada. Definitely the norm in Manitoba.
umanwizard
Hydro-Québec is the name of the power company there so I’m guessing it is.
Forricide
That would definitely make the most sense. It’s also hydro in Quebec (hydro-Québec).
dledesma
I've had to explain to an Albertan friend that hydro meant power, they mostly use coal out there from what I understand.
osigurdson
Alberta doesn't use any coal actually.
no_ja
Discussions of healthcare facilities always get me in Canada. Grew up in the states, but born in Canada, when you have to use the emergency room it’s said that “they went to Hospital” as opposed to “they went to ‘the’ hospital”. No one up here ever seems to see the oddity of always referring to multiple different hospitals as the singular Hospital.
jt2190
“They went to hospital” is a Britishism and definitely not something you’ll hear all the time in Canada.
samplatt
Confirming britishism - both are in use here in Australia.
fracus
I've never heard a fellow Canadian say "to hospital" over "to the hospital", in person, or on TV.
umanwizard
In America you do something similar with school. I went to school (not “the school”).
BJones12
I usually hear "they went to emerg(e?)"
wk_end
Even though I lived in the US for a decade, it still surprises me to learn that certain words are Canadianisms. I wonder how often people had no idea what I was talking aboot and just didn't speak up.
PieUser
"upload" and "download" are interesting to me, which, in addition to the standard meaning, refer to the transfer of costs/jurisdiction to a higher and lower level of government respectively (between provincial and federal for instance)
neurobashing
Sad to not see "dart" in there, I assumed from Letterkenny that it was a regular Canadianism. Perhaps it's too new?
throaway5454
Popularized by Trailer Park Boys in the 2000s, if not well before
rapind
We called em darts when I was in highschool back in the 90s.
floren
I don't remember darts as much on TPB... the phrase "Corey, Trevor, two smokes, let's go" stands out.
xutopia
As a Nova Scotian I can tell you it was present before 2000s... at least 90s.
jdougan
Apparently originated in Australia, though it is definitely an established usage in Canada. I seem to recall hearing that usage in Vancouver in the 90s.
https://gikken.co/mate-translate/blog/from-darts-to-cigarett...
wobblyasp
Darts an old one. At least since my parents age.
joshdavham
"Dart" is absolutely still used. "Eh bud. Can I bum a dart from ya?"
486sx33
[dead]
bardak
The one subtle difference I've noticed between Canadian and American English is on school grades. American say "first grade" where as Canada say "grade one".
sheepscreek
Washroom vs. bathroom: I’ve always found it strange to call a room a “bathroom” if it doesn’t have a shower or tub. On the other hand, most single-family homes in Canada have a “powder room” where people can wash their face and hands. Although these facilities serve similar purposes, the former is used for public spaces, while the latter is found inside homes.
trashchomper
As an Australian I always find it funny going places and having to remember which dance-around word everyone uses for "toilet". Washroom, restroom, bathroom, there's so many!
bcoates
'Toilet' itself is a euphemism, an archaic term for dressing/washing room and/or the act of washing up
umanwizard
“Toilette” is still used that way in normal everyday French. “Je fais ma toilette” - I’m washing up/getting ready/getting dressed/doing my morning hygiene routine/etc.
mitthrowaway2
It was pretty surprising to be reading some old books on Project Gutenberg and seeing the word "toilet" being used meaning "outfit" or "wardrobe".
gerdesj
Toilet, bog or lav in the UK are some options.
The easy to remember terms and will work nearly anywhere without giving offence are: "loo" in a residential property or "gents/ladies" for a non-residential property.
xeonmc
and also the lavatory
ajdude
Don't forget water closet!
xeonmc
Not to be confused with Tungsten Carbide, a ceramic used for abrasives and ballpoint pen tips.
kurtis_reed
Toilet is the object, not the room it's in
KayEss
Only in some parts of the world. In many it's the room and the object
SECProto
> Toilet is the object, not the room it's in
Meaning 1a is the object, 1b is the room. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toilet
Forricide
This one (among others) does really fascinate me. Maybe it’s due to spending a lot of time around diverse groups of people but I’ve never really seen a huge distinction between these words. Washroom, bathroom, toilet, I and everyone I know pretty much would use interchangeably? Or at least wouldn’t blink at someone else using them.
Restroom, and a variety of others, might be slightly more usage specific but still… wouldn’t be unexpected or weird, I’d say?
SecretDreams
Animal shithouse
koakuma-chan
I use washroom and bathroom interchangeably.
CoastalCoder
As American who's recently discovered Corner Gas, I just learned that nearly every resident of Saskatchewan is named "Jackass".
joshdavham
Probably one of my favorite commonly-used Canadian slang is "to chirp someone". It's a term that's frequently used in hockey circles, but more generally means to make fun of someone in a banter-y kind of way.
canucker2016
For chirping, I'll bring up Shoresy, spin off of Letterkenny TV show, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoresy
The film Slapshot with hockey banter/ribbing (at a Gilmore Girls-type pace).
mikepurvis
Having courtside seats at a basketball game means getting to listen to the players chirp each other.
RandallBrown
It might be more popular in Canada but I think "chirping" is pretty common in the US.
dismalaf
Nah if you say someone chirped you say, on the street or in a pub, it's fighting words...
A Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles https://dchp.arts.ubc.ca/