Although we Canadians tend to think of ourselves as polite and friendly—if somewhat reserved—the truth is, we’re pretty much adorable. Like, five kittens rolling around in a basket adorable. Not convinced? Check out the ridiculously cute names we have for everyday things.
Bunnyhug
Who doesn’t want a hug from a bunny? Seriously, though, this is what Prairie folk call a hoodie—you know, a sweatshirt with a hood attached. Since we could all use more hugs, we think this term should come into more common use in the rest of the country.
Mickey
Yeah, not the big-eared mouse. “Mickey” is the Canadian word that refers to a 375 ml bottle of alcohol—a slightly more benign version of the American phrase “to slip someone a mickey,” which means to drug them senseless.
Kerfuffle
This word, meaning a commotion or fuss, isn’t strictly Canadian—it’s used in the UK as well, and based on a couple of Scottish gaelic words. But who cares? It’s still so freakin’ cute!
Pogey
This is an old one, but if you have relatives who remember the Great Depression, they may also remember the shame of “being on pogey,” or taking welfare. Some also still use it to refer to employment insurance. In nineteenth century Britain, a “pogie” or “pogy” was a workhouse.
Loonie, toonie
Let’s face it: we have currency for kindergartners. Not only do we have pretty, colourful folding money, but our shiny coins have adorable names, too.
Pop
So much more expressive than “soda.” (To be fair, “pop” is used in certain areas in the US as well, but it definitely dominates Canada.)
Ski-doo
They’re loud and powerful, but we still gave them a cutesy-poo name. Actually, the iconic Bombardier snowmobile was originally called a “Ski-dog”—much less adorable—but a typo on a brochure spelled “dog” wrong.
Chinook
Alberta’s legendary warm winter wind has a warm-and-fuzzy name to match. Named for the indigenous peoples who lived in Pacific Northwest who spoke the Chinookan language, the wind is technically known as a Foehn wind — not nearly as cute.
PoCoMo
The name for the tri-cities in British Columbia: Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam, and Port Moody. Not to be confused with those similar-sounding mountains in northeastern Pennsylvania with heart-shaped honeymoon suites and summer camps.
Deke
A shortened form of “decoy,” to deke is to get around an opponent, usually by pretending to go the opposite direction. Originally used in ice hockey, it’s now commonly used as a synonym for a fake out of any sort. Strangely, it’s also used instead of “duck,” as in “I’m just going to deke into the store for a mickey and a bunnyhug.”
Did we miss any cute slang? Let us know!
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