country wife

(Canada, historical) A fur trader's First Nations or Métis common-law wife.


cover someone's ass

en-verb

cover someone's ass (third-person singular simple present covers someone's ass, present participle covering someone's ass, simple past and past participle covered someone's ass)

covers someone's ass (present singular third-person)
covering someone's ass (participle present)
covered someone's ass (participle past)
covered someone's ass (past)

Killian kept the files because "he was trying to cover his ass," Via said. "He was always worried something would come back on him."

2004 September 14, Jim Drinkard, Dave Moniz, “Secretary: Memos are forgeries”, in USA Today:

(Canada, US, idiomatic, vulgar) To make preparations or take precautions to ensure that a person is not blamed or punished for his or her conduct.


bloater

From bloat + -er, because they swell during preparation.

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-bloater.wav

(Canada, US) A freshwater fish native to the Great Lakes (Coregonus hoyi).


humourless

en-adj

humourless (comparative more humourless, superlative most humourless)

more humourless (comparative)
most humourless (superlative)

(British spelling, Canada) Alternative spelling of humorless


assward

en-adv

assward (comparative more assward, superlative most assward)

more assward (comparative)
most assward (superlative)

(Canada, US, informal) Ass first; backward.


asswards

asswards (comparative more asswards, superlative most asswards)

more asswards (comparative)
most asswards (superlative)

(Canada, US, slang) Ass first; backwards.


grounders

"It's so cool," Nolan, a Grade 5 student at Dalhousie said, adding that he was looking forward to the first game of grounders. "It has three slides and I like the colours. They're really nice."

2016 May 16, “Dalhousie ready to play”, in Winnipeg Free Press, archived from the original on 2023-03-04:

Apparently, kids like to climb, swing and slide. Who knew? And they like playground games. Two favourites (ask a kid if you don't know) are grounders (it combines tag and hide-and-seek) and gaga ball (a kinder, gentler version of dodge ball).

2017 April 5, Jeff Outhit, “UW students building the perfect playground”, in Waterloo Region Record, archived from the original on 2023-03-04:

The games they learn to play — like the tag game "grounders" or "cops-and-robbers" — are things that show up on many school playgrounds.

2019 July 16, Clare Hennig, “Future of summer camp for refugee children uncertain as student founders graduate”, in CBC News, archived from the original on 2021-10-26:

(Canada, playground games) A playground game in which one person is chosen to be "it" (and must keep their eyes shut) and tries to tag others, who become "it" instead, either by touching them or by calling out "grounders" while they are on the ground (rather than on a climber).


parkland

(Canada, US) A landscape characterized by a mixture of treed groves and open grasslands, akin to a Eurasian forest steppe.


tire kicker

(Canada, US) Alternative form of tyre kicker


scrutineer

(Canada) A person who observes any process which requires rigorous oversight.


bush pilot

Last month, landed by a bush pilot on a glacier at 7,000 ft., the four began their long push—the kind of adventure that pales a plains dweller.

1959 July 13, “‘The Great One’”, in Time:

(chiefly Canada, Australia, New Guinea) A pilot who flies small aircraft to and from remote locations, over expanses of relatively unpopulated territory.


God Save the King

(Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK) An expression of one’s patriotism and hope for the long life of the monarch, especially in his presence.


storm-stayed

(Scotland, Canada, Maritimes and Ontario) stranded due to bad weather, snowed in.


jelly doughnut

jelly doughnuts (plural)
jelly donut (alternative)

(Canada, US) A doughnut filled with jam and usually topped with icing sugar.


file cabinet

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-file cabinet.wav

(Canada, US) An item of office furniture comprising a set of either drawers, or shelves with individual doors or panels, sized to standard widths of file folders and traditionally used for the storage of files.


Johnny-jump-up

(Canada, US) Any of several violets or pansies.

Any of several violets or pansies.
Viola bicolor (American field pansy)

Any of several violets or pansies.
Viola cornuta (tufted pansy)

Viola pedunculata (California golden violet)

Viola tricolor
Viola tricolor#Translingual

Viola tricolor (heartsease, wild pansy, pansy, et al.)

He spoke almost dreamily, as if he was all by himself, out in the woods, picking johnny-jump-ups.

1940, Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, Penguin, published 2010, page 6:


chequing account

en-noun

chequing account (plural chequing accounts)

In the next town he wired money to his daughter’s chequing account and kept driving.

2009, Emily St. John Mandel, Last Night in Montreal, Picador (2015), page 149:

checking account
checking account#English

(British and Canada) Alternative spelling of checking account.


mailpiece

From mail + piece; part of the business jargon of postal services and mail marketers for more than a century, but not common among the general public until the 21st century.

You have 0 mailpiece(s) and 1 inbound package(s) arriving soon. [U.S. Postal Service Informed Delivery email of the 2020s]

Each mailjob is composed of pages that go into a single envelope. These are called mailpieces.

1995 April, Anthony F. Stuart, Technical Association of the Graphic Arts, Proceedings, page 442:

The name and return address of the authorized nonprofit organization must be either on the outside of the mailpiece or in a prominent location

2002, Bruce R. Hopkins, The Law of Fundraising, page 316:

(chiefly Canada, US) (countable) A piece of mail, that is, an item of (physical) mail; especially, an item of flat envelope form factor as contrasted with an item of package form factor.


drop the writ

en-verb

drop the writ (third-person singular simple present drops the writ, present participle dropping the writ, simple past and past participle dropped the writ)

drops the writ (present singular third-person)
dropping the writ (participle present)
dropped the writ (participle past)
dropped the writ (past)

Compression of draw up the writ. "Writ" means a writ of election issued by the Governor that initiates a parliamentary election.

Mr. Chrétien visited Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson and asked her to drop the writ, meaning that for the next 36 days, Canada will be hit with election fever.

2000 October 22, Allison Dunfield, “Chrétien calls election for Nov. 27”, in Globe and Mail, Toronto:

(Canada, idiomatic) To call a federal or provincial election.


brokedown

But it's got a brokedown drive. It can only hobble along. They can't try to get but so far! What's the nearest sol-type star?

2012, Murray Leinster, A Matter of Importance, page 25:

(Canada, US, informal) Broken; not working properly.


Golden Horseshoe

Reportedly coined by Westinghouse President Herbert H. Rogge, in a speech to the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce on 12 Jan. 1954.

The big success story in Canada this year is the tale of the 120-mile rim of rolling land that hugs the western shore of Lake Ontario from Oshawa to Niagara Falls. One out of every seven Canadians now lives there. . . . They proudly call the area "the Golden Horseshoe."

1960 February 22, “‘An Ongoing Process’”, in Time:

Half of those new immigrants came to Ontario. . . . Once here, most of them settled in the Golden Horseshoe area, now home to 8.1 million people, or one-quarter of all Canadians.

2007 May 18, “Editorial: Immigration targets go beyond numbers”, in Toronto Star, retrieved 2008-09-08:

(Canada, informal) The U-shaped area of the Canadian province of Ontario which extends along the northwestern, western, and southwestern shoreline of Lake Ontario from metropolitan Toronto to the Niagara River, comprising one of Canada's most populated and economically productive regions.


canoeman

(chiefly Canada, historical) A voyageur.


head cheese

en-noun

head cheese (countable and uncountable, plural head cheeses)

(US, Canada) A terrine made from the flesh of the head of a pig (such as the face).


heavy cream

heavy cream (countable and uncountable, plural heavy creams)

(Canada, US) A rich cream, at least 36 percent of which is milkfat.


light cream

The standard of identity is from 21 CFR §131.155.

(Canada, US) A cream at least 18 percent of which is fat.


cross the aisle

en-verb

cross the aisle (third-person singular simple present crosses the aisle, present participle crossing the aisle, simple past and past participle crossed the aisle)

crosses the aisle (present singular third-person)
crossing the aisle (participle present)
crossed the aisle (participle past)
crossed the aisle (past)

Liberal members pounded their desks in delight as Social Crediter Horace (Bud) Olson (Medicine Hat) picked up his books and papers and crossed the aisle to take the last seat in the third row on the Government side. This symbolic gesture completed his defection.

1967 September 26, Geoffrey Stevens, “Kind thoughts, gentle words, then House reverts to form”, in Globe and Mail, Canada, page 1:

A Conservative member of Parliament crossed the aisle this weekend to join the resurgent Labor Party of Tony Blair.

1995 October 9, John Darnton, “Tories, With a Bagful of Woes, Are Hurt by a Defection”, in New York Times, retrieved 2008-09-27:

When asked by Duffy about rumours that he was being heavily courted by the Tories to cross the aisle and join them, Kilgour replied that they've opened "No doors."

2005 April 14, “Kilgour can't 'live with himself,' quits Grits”, in CTV.ca, retrieved 2009-04-01:

After Stronach's 2005 defection to Paul Martin's Liberals . . . . [a]t least one Tory MP openly called her a "whore" for crossing the aisle.

2007 April 16, David Olive, “Belinda accomplished much in relatively short time”, in Toronto Star, Canada, retrieved 2009-04-01:

(chiefly British and Canada, idiomatic, politics) Of a member of a parliament, to resign from one's political party and join another party, resulting in moving from one's currently assigned desk or seat in the legislative chamber to a new desk or seat physically located with the other members of one's new party.


Main Street

Thanks to a $700 billion TARP bailout and hundreds of billions of dollars in nearly free of charge loans by the Federal Reserve (a policy Soros himself told me was a "hidden gift" to the banks), Wall Street has surged back to pre-crisis levels of compensation even as Main Street continues to struggle.

2011 January–February, Chrystia Freeland, “The rise of the new global elite”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 2015-12-20:

(idiomatic, Canada, US, collective) Everyday working-class people and small business owners, especially with regard to their concerns, social views, etc.


javelina

javelinas (plural)
jabalina (alternative)
javeli (alternative)

From Spanish javalina, jabalina, feminine form of jabalí (“wild boar”), from Andalusian Arabic جَبَلِي (jabalī) (in خِنْزِير جَبَلِيّ (ḵinzīr jabaliyy, “mountain pig”)), from Arabic جَبَل (jabal, “mountain”). Cognate with Portuguese javalina, and similar in other Iberian languages.

The Javelina (Peccari) is an animal peculiar so far as I know to Spanish America.

1831, Benjamin Lundy, editor, The Genius of Universal Emancipation, page 117:

Some well-mounted heads of deer and one of an enormous black javeli projected from the walls.

1903 February, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “Hygeia at the Solito”, in Everybody’s Magazine, volume VIII, number 2, New York, N.Y.: John Wanamaker, →ISSN, page 174, column 2:

We […] were ready to send some prickly pears to the next world when the most unfortunate group of javelina on earth walked into view.

2013, Philipp Meyer, The Son, Simon & Schuster, published 2014, page 264:

(Canada, US) The peccary, especially the collared peccary.


have the biscuit

have the biscuit (third-person singular simple present has the biscuit, present participle having the biscuit, simple past and past participle had the biscuit)

has the biscuit (present singular third-person)
having the biscuit (participle present)
had the biscuit (participle past)
had the biscuit (past)

From have + the + biscuit (“Communion wafer”).

(idiomatic, Canada) To be of no further use; to be near death.


gas pedal

(Canada, US, automotive) An accelerator; a foot control for fuel flow.


square off

square off (third-person singular simple present squares off, present participle squaring off, simple past and past participle squared off)

squares off (present singular third-person)
squaring off (participle present)
squared off (participle past)
squared off (past)

Hey, man, don't square off on me with some bullshit.

1984, Daniel Petrie Jr., Beverly Hills Cop, spoken by Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy), Paramount Pictures:

When James Baldwin Squared Off Against William F. Buckley Jr. [title]

2019 October 18, Thomas Meaney, “When James Baldwin Squared Off Against William F. Buckley Jr.”, in New York Times:

2023 September 7, “US, China square off on the South China Sea as Indonesia urges leaders to maintain peace”, in CNA:

(Canada, US) To get ready for a confrontation (debate, argument, fight).


chequing

(British and Canada) Alternative spelling of checking


grilled cheese

The syntax around the term's usage supports the idea that it originated as an ellipsis of grilled cheese sandwich.

I'll have a grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup, please.

—Do you like grilled cheese? —I love grilled cheese! Especially with [slices of] bacon and tomato added!

Third, when you go to lunch today, instead of ordering a steak, ask for a grilled cheese.

1970, “Time”, in Time Inc., volume 96, numbers 1-9, page 43:

A man of impeccable class, he also buys ready-made suits on sale and would as soon have grilled cheese and iced tea as coq au vin.

1973 September, Anne Crawford and Jack Keever, “John Connally Between the Acts”, in Texas Monthly, ISSN 0148-7736, Volume 1, Issue 8 (September, 1973), page 44

We sat out among the sidewalk tables, and I had a grilled cheese with bacon.

a. 2000, C. Bard Cole, “Young Hemingways”, in Briefly told lives, Macmillan, published 2000, →ISBN, page 120:

I passed on the healthy stuff and had a grilled cheese.

2001, Terry Bisson, The Pickup Artist, Macmillan, published 2002, →ISBN, page 23:

Stewie: Does anybody wanna buy my shirt? [pause] I'll trade you my shirt for a grilled cheese!

2008 March 2, Danny Smith, “Play It Again”, in Family Guy, season 6 episode 10, 14:44-14:50:

He lunched on grilled cheese in Toronto and sashimi in Tokyo and had the chance to stick his finger in a true-to-life Dutch dike in Almere, Holland.

2009 December, in Dwell, ISSN 1530-5309, Volume 10, Number 2 (December 2009/January 2010), page 28

(Canada, US, usually countable) A cheese sandwich typically toasted or fried in butter.


Conservative

(politics) A member of a political party incorporating the word "Conservative" in its name.

(Canada, politics) A member or supporter of the Conservative Party of Canada, or its predecessors, or provincial equivalents, or their predecessors


unpolite

en-adj

unpolite (comparative more unpolite, superlative most unpolite)

more unpolite (comparative)
most unpolite (superlative)

From un- + polite. Compare earlier unpolished.

[H]e has all along (by his threatening and unpolite behaviour to my friends, and whenever he speaks of them) given me reason to conclude, that there is more malice to them, than regard to me, in his perseverance.

1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter LVII”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; […], →OCLC:

(now chiefly Canada, US) Lacking in good manners; impolite, discourteous.


carry the can

en-verb

carry the can (third-person singular simple present carries the can, present participle carrying the can, simple past and past participle carried the can)

carries the can (present singular third-person)
carrying the can (participle present)
carried the can (participle past)
carried the can (past)

For Vajpayee, who is keen that he alone does not carry the can for his unwieldy alliance, it is a tough decision.

1998 April 25, Arati R. Jerath, "18 partners hunt for one voice," Indian Express (Bombay) (retrieved 21 Oct 2008)

You could reasonably argue that Brown himself should carry the can for much of the regulatory failure of the banks.

2008 October 16, Adrian Hamilton, “Comment: I wouldn't get too carried away by success if I were Brown”, in The Independent, UK, retrieved 2008-10-21:

They're not going to play the patsy where they carry the can for all the woes caused by a tanking in oil prices that's already happened.

2015 June 17, Rick Bell, “Alberta NDP government chooses not to kick province's oil industry when it's down”, in Calgary Sun, Canada, retrieved 2015-09-25:

(British, Canada, idiomatic) To take responsibility, especially in a challenging situation.


regular coffee

en-noun

regular coffee (countable and uncountable, plural regular coffees)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-regular coffee.wav

Gimme three regular coffees and three blacks.

Coffee of the sort which is considered the default in a given area:

(Canada) Coffee with one cream and one sugar.


news anchor

(US, Canada) A presenter of news broadcasts.


Saskabush

(Canada, informal, humorous) The city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.


purple gas

(Canada, Prairies) Gasoline priced with reduced taxes for farm use, identified by adding purple dye.


cheap like borscht

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-cheap like borscht.wav

Calque of Yiddish ביליק ווי באָרשט (bilik vi borsht), as the beets used to make it were among the cheapest vegetables.

calque

ביליק ווי באָרשט

(Canada, informal, simile) Very inexpensive.


play silly buggers

en-verb

play silly buggers (third-person singular simple present plays silly buggers, present participle playing silly buggers, simple past and past participle played silly buggers)

plays silly buggers (present singular third-person)
playing silly buggers (participle present)
played silly buggers (participle past)
played silly buggers (past)
play silly beggars (alternative)

"Look," he said, "it's just fate playing silly buggers with you. With me. With us. It's a complete coincidence."

1982, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything, page 95:

(British, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, idiomatic) To act in a stupid or reckless manner.


N/S

(Canada, military) Abbreviation of non-serviceable, used on tags attached to equipment needing servicing.


half note

(Canada, US, music) A musical note that is two beats long, which is half the length of a semibreve and equal in length to two crotchets; a minim.


wah-wah

onom

Imitative

When told during a Fox News segment about a 10-year-old with Down syndrome who was separated from her mother at the southern border, the former campaign manager of President Trump replied, "Wah wah."

2018 June 20, “Corey Lewandowski Mocks Immigrant Child With Down Syndrome Taken From Mother: 'Wah, Wah'”, in Inside Edition:

(US, Canada, onomatopoeia) The sad trombone sound, used to indicate failure or disappointment. May be used mockingly; also written wah wah and womp womp.


sugar cookie

(US, Canada) A cookie with granules of sugar sprinkled on the top before baking.


microneighbourhood

UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and South Africa spelling of microneighborhood


leg.

One argument made a lot in the leg. was that the bill would simplify voting.


legislative building

en-noun

legislative building (plural legislative buildings)

legislative buildings (plural)
leg. (alternative)

(Canada) The meeting place of a provincial legislature.


National Assembly

en-proper noun

National Assembly (plural National Assemblies)

National Assemblies (plural)
national assembly (alternative)

(Canada) Provincial legislature of Quebec.


governor general

en-noun

governor general (plural governors general)

governors general (plural)
governor-general (alternative)

/ˈɡʌvənɚ ˌdʒɛn(ə)ɹəl/

/ˈɡʌv(ə)nə ˌdʒɛnɹəl/

[ˈɡɐv(ɘ̃)nɜ ˌdʒẽnɹɯ]

In 1968, as one of the projects sponsored by the federal Centennial Commission, Irma Coucill was asked to add drawings of all the Governors General and Prime Ministers since Confederation.

2005, Irma Coucill, Preface: Canada′s Prime Ministers, Governors General and Fathers of Confederation, page 7:

But in a minority government scenario, the governor general might still be called upon to play a part.

2009, Rand Dyck, Canadian Politics, page 320:

(Canada, Australia, New Zealand) An official appointed by the reigning British monarch to govern a Commonwealth realm as the monarch's representative.

حَاكِم عَامّ

governor or viceroy possessing some military authority


emergency room

(Canada, US, Philippines, healthcare) A department of a hospital where seriously ill or injured patients, often with life-threatening conditions that require urgent or immediate treatment, are brought in, usually by ambulance.

otdelénije ékstrennoj medicínskoj pómošči

отделе́ние э́кстренной медици́нской по́мощи


grocery store

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-grocery store.wav

(chiefly US, Canada) A store where groceries can be purchased, especially a supermarket.


harbourmaster

(British, Canada) Alternative spelling of harbormaster


CPC

C.P.C. (alternative)
C. P. C. (alternative)

Coordinate term: COC

(Canada, sports) Abbreviation of Canadian Paralympic Committee.


CRAP

(Canada, politics) Initialism of Conservative-Reform Alliance Party. It has since merged into the Canadian Alliance


Natural Governing Party

So called because it has been the governing political party of Canada for most of its history.

Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada

(Canada, politics, slang) The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC).


Progressive Conservative Party

the Progressive Conservative Party (canonical)

Conservative Party of Canada
Conservative Party of Canada

Liberal-Conservative Party of Canada
Liberal-Conservative Party of Canada

Progressive Party of Canada
Progressive Party of Canada

(Canada, politics) a political party in Canada with a right of centre ideology, which succeed the old Conservative Party of Canada, Liberal-Conservative Party of Canada, Blue Party and absorbed the Progressive Party of Canada. It was itself succeeded by the new Conservative Party of Canada.


Progressive Conservative

Progressive Conservative (plural Progressive Conservatives)

Progressive Conservative Party
Progressive Conservative Party

(Canada, politics) A member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.


Progressive Conservative

en-adj

Progressive Conservative (not comparable)

(Canada, politics) Pertaining to the Progressive Conservative Party.

progressiste-conservateur

pertaining to the Progressive Conservative Party


slobby

slobby (comparative slobbier, superlative slobbiest)

slobbier (comparative)
slobbiest (superlative)

They had to run for his father and then launch a skiff into the slobby ice, half poling, half hauling toward the spot where he'd last been seen […]

2003, Michael Crummey, Flesh and Blood, page 38:


gapers' block

gapers' blocks (plural)
gapers block (alternative)

In the lingo of the traffic reporters, "gapers' block" is a tie-up caused by motorists slowing down to gape at an accident.

In the pretty, tranquil valley, elk were feeding just off the highway, creating a gapers block.

2001, "Rocky Road Rocky Mountain National Park boasts as ear-popping drive full of peak experiences," Wichita Eagle (Kansas), 25 Mar., p. 1G

(chiefly US and Canada, idiomatic) A traffic jam resulting from motorists slowing to look at a motor vehicle collision or other roadside distraction.


jeweller's

jewellers' (plural)
jeweler's (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-jeweller's.wav

(UK, Canada) A shop that sells jewellery.


smoked meat

en-noun

smoked meat (countable and uncountable, plural smoked meats)

smoked meats (plural)
smoke meat (alternative)

pastrami

a similar deli meat made from a navel cut

(Canada) A salt-cured, spiced, smoked beef brisket, similar to pastrami, developed in Montreal from Eastern European Yiddish Jewish traditions. Traditionally, this is made from a brisket cut, though derivatives may use other cuts.


tea dance

tea dances (plural)
T-dance (alternative)
T dance (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-tea dance.wav

(US, Canada) Any late afternoon or early evening dance.


alexanders

alexanders (plural)
Alexanders (alternative)

From French alisander, apparently named for Alexander the Great, for one or more species thought to be endemic to Macedonia.

/ˌælɪɡˈzændɚz/

/ˌælɪɡˈzɑːndəz/

(chiefly Canada, US) Various plants of genus Zizia or Angelica thought to resemble European alexanders.


byelection

byelections (plural)
by-election (alternative)
byeelection (alternative)

(Canada, New Zealand, often UK) Alternative form of by-election


ratepayer

The government is supposed to mediate between ratepayers and the power company.

(chiefly Canada, US) Someone who pays for a public utility or service.


stovetop

stovetops (plural)
stove-top (alternative)

You make this on the stovetop, not in the oven.

(cooking, US, Canada) The top of a stove; usually specifically the burners.


friulano

friulano (countable and uncountable, plural friulanos)

From Italian friulano (“Friulian”). In Italian the cheese is called montasio.

(Canada) A cow's-milk cheese with firm pale-yellow flesh and a mild flavour, originating in Friuli, Italy.


-emia

From the New Latin combining form of Ancient Greek αἷμᾰ (haîmă), αἵμᾰτος (haímătos, “blood”).

(chiefly Canada, US) Alternative spelling of -aemia


brainpan

brainpans (plural)
brain-pan (alternative)
braynepan (alternative)

From Middle English brayn panne, from Old English bræġnpanne, corresponding to brain + pan.

Many a time but for a Sallet, my braine-pan had bene cleft with a brown Bill.

1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ix]:

Yet, whether thwart or flatly it did lyte, / The tempred steele did not into his braynepan byte.

1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

(now chiefly Canada, US, colloquial) The braincase; the skull.

‘And a hard word it is,’ said Richie, ‘as my brainpan kens to this blessed moment.’

1822, Walter Scott, The Fortunes of Nigel:

(now chiefly Canada, US, colloquial) The brain or mind.


chief petty officer

chief petty officer (plural chief petty officers)

chief petty officer first class
chief petty officer first class

chief petty officer second class
chief petty officer second class

(Canada, Navy) A warrant officer belonging to one of the two classes of chief petty officer: chief petty officer first class and chief petty officer second class.


Medicare

(Canada) Alternative letter-case form of medicare


reading week

From reading + week.
From every class period of the school day during the school week being a reading period, where students read their notes and self-revised class material in preparation for assessments.

(UK, Canada) A week during a university's term where no teaching takes place, generally so that students may prepare for tests.

(Canada) A spring break; often specifically the March break.


Tyndall stone

Tyndall stone (usually uncountable, plural Tyndall stones)

After the town of Tyndall, Manitoba, where the stone is quarried, in turn named after Irish physicist John Tyndall (1820–93). Tyndall, Tindall (“inhabitant of the Tyne river valley”) < Tyne.

More and more my father chooses to decorate the stone surfaces with elaborate cipher, even though Tyndall stone, with its mottled coloring, is thought to be resistant to fine carving.

1994, Carol Shields, The Stone Diaries, Toronto: Penguin., →ISBN, page 64:

(Canada) A dolomitic limestone quarried in the vicinity of Tyndall, Manitoba, Canada, famous for its pervasive mottling and numerous fossils.


Abitibi

From Algonquin abi'ta-bi-g (“halfway across water”), from abi'ta (“halfway”) + bi (“water”).

bor

(ethnography, Canada) A member of a certain Algonquin people of Ontario.


toboggan slide

(Canada) A track prepared with ice or snow, for sledding down a slope or slide.

(Canada, figuratively) A quick, unstoppable decline.


Manitoba maple

(Canada) A small, fast-growing and fairly short-lived species of North American maple with pinnately compound leaves, Acer negundo.


Gordie Howe hat trick

en-noun

Gordie Howe hat trick (plural Gordie Howe hat tricks)

From Gordie Howe + hat trick.
Named for Gordie Howe (1928-2016), considered one of the all-time best ice hockey players, but known for his tendency to fight.

"Basil got a ‘Gordie Howe hat trick’," Dave Gagner said. "He scored a goal, got an assist on the winner and got into a fight. A hell of a fight!"

1989 December 17, “North Stars Snap Road Slump 4-3”, in St. Paul Pioneer Press, retrieved 2013-09-21:

"Last February against Anaheim," Severyn said . . . "I got a Gordie Howe hat trick that night. You know, a goal, a fight and an assist."

1996 November 23, Rick Sadowski, “Severyn has starring role as AVs trip up Islanders”, in Rocky Mountain News, retrieved 2013-09-21:

The assist came in the first period. . . . The goal came later in the first. . . . Then in the third, to complete the Gordie Howe hat trick, the fight just happened, said Milan Lucic.

2010 October 20, Fluto Shinzawa, “Lucic settles a score and Bruins capitalize”, in Boston Globe, retrieved 2013-09-21:

(Canada and US, ice hockey) The triple achievement of a goal, an assist for a goal, and participation in a fight, within a single game.

Gordie Howe
Gordie Howe hat trick
en:Gordie Howe


Bombardier

Company founded in Valcourt, Quebec, in 1941; from family name of founder Joseph-Armand Bombardier.

(Canada) An enclosed passenger vehicle, propelled over snow and ice by caterpillar tracks and steered by skis, whose actual original product name was Auto-Neige™/Snowmobile™, made by Bombardier Ltée.


Bloody Caesar

Bloody Caesars (plural)
bloody Caesar (alternative)
bloody caesar (alternative)

(Canada) A cocktail made from clamato (clam-tomato juice) and vodka, and often garnished with celery.


beavertail

beavertails (plural)
beaver tail (alternative)
beaver-tail (alternative)

(Canada, US) Any object like a beaver's tail, oval or tear-drop in plan, usually broad and flat; usually beaver-tail.

Coordinate term: elephant ear

(Canada, US) A fried-dough pastry of such shape; usually beaver tail or Beaver Tail.


booze can

Mom Wassilyn claims she and Pal Hal had a one-night stand after a night at a "booze can" (after-hours joint) and son Mike was the result.

1990 November 4, “Ballard's death hasn't brought stability to Leafs”, in St. Paul Pioneer Press, USA, page 3C:

"The establishment was operating as a booze can serving drinks well after hours," Mammoliti said.

2008 September 9, Robyn Doolittle, “Alcohol commission shuts down booze can”, in Toronto Star, Canada, retrieved 2009-02-02:

(chiefly Canada, idiomatic) A nightclub or bar, especially one which operates illegally or is otherwise disreputable.


cooktop

These include such precautions as swimming only in the company of a responsible adult who knows about your condition and how to manage a seizure; getting your doctor to assess whether or not you should drive; having showers rather than baths, and leaving the bathroom door unlocked; using guards for open fires, radiators and cooktops.

2009 January 25, By Dr Cindy Pan, “Living with epilepsy”, in Herald Sun:

(cooking, US, Canada) An assembly of burners for cooking, designed to fit onto a surface such as the top of a table


handwell

"This is not a unique handwell in a unique area – it's just like all others.

2009 January 31, Nick Aveling, “School kids 'zapped' by sidewalk electricity”, in Toronto Star:

Last Thursday five students, aged 10 and 11, from Regent Park/Duke of York Junior Public School, were zapped by a handwell on Dundas St. E. near Sumach St., said Toronto District School Board spokesperson John Caldarone.

2009 February 3, Emily Mathieu, “Repairs underway to metal lids that jolted dogs, kids”, in Toronto Star:


granny panties

I didn't even remember that I was wearing my spinster lingerie until the underwire bra and granny panties were off my body and lying at the foot of the bed.

2004, Eric Garcia, Cassandra French's Finishing School for Boys:

Much like a bib for children, granny panties are worn as a preventive measure...

2006, Giuliana DePandi, Think Like a Guy:

I held up what had to be the most wholesome pair of granny panties I'd ever seen. They were like great-granny panties. They were even white.

(plural only, US, Canada, slang, derogatory) Women's and girls’ underpants considered of a traditional, old-fashioned, or staid kind (e.g. control briefs or bloomers), as opposed to bikini-cut briefs or thongs.


coteau

coteaus (plural)
coteaux (plural)
côteau (alternative)

(US, Canada) A hilly upland including the divide between two valleys.


Sally Ann

Amenities for the Canadian army in the battle zone were few and far between, but the prime one of them all was the Salvation Army, the Sally Ann, a religious organization back home that served all ranks and religions.

2005, Robert E. Rogge, Fearsome Battle: With the Canadian Army in World War II Europe, →ISBN, page 50:

'Then she must be a member of the Sally Ann.' / That's what some people called the Salvation Army, whether with affection or not I don't know.

2006, Thomas Healy, I Have Heard You Calling in the Night, →ISBN, page 97:

(informal, Canada, British) The Salvation Army.


gino

Ginos are essentially teenagers of Italian background who take on what they think are traits that characterize an Italian...

1993, Purdue Research Foundation, Romance Languages Annual:

Ginos and Ginas typically came from Italian households, wore stylish clothing, and listened to disco-type music.

1994, Marcel Danesi, Cool: The Signs and Meanings of Adolescence:

Not all ginos and ginas are the same, just becuz you've come across a couple you hate, doesn't mean you hate them all. ... Where I live it is probably 99% ginos and ginas and I get along with them just fine, in fact, my boyfriend is a gino.

2000, "[+//Tania//-]", "They're not going there just to get high" (discussion on Internet newsgroup alt.rave)

(US, Canada, slang, derogatory) A person of Mediterranean (especially Italian) descent, stereotypically regarded as shallow and materialistic.


laneway

We pulled into a laneway at 496 Evans and drove to the back[…].

2009 January 15, Jack Lakey, “Hiding under a cold tin truck is no way for a cat to spend the winter”, in Toronto Star:

(Canada, Scotland, Ireland, Australia) A narrow roadway; a lane


English muffin

(Canada, US, Australia) A flat, round, yeast-leavened form of bread.


gaspereau

gaspereau (plural gaspereaus or gaspereaux)

From French gaspereau, a variant of gaspareau.

(Canada, dated) An alewife (type of fish).


yardwork

Mr. Romney endured tough questioning from reporters in Des Moines yesterday about revelations last week that a yardwork company he employed was found for a second time to be using illegal immigrants.

2007 December 8, Sarah Wheaton, “Huckabee Immigration Plan Emphasizes Security”, in New York Times:

(Canada, US) Work done in maintaining a lawn, and related landscaping activities


pizza-ghetti

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-pizza-ghetti.wav

(Canada) A dish consisting of a slice of pizza and a serving of spaghetti.


overtop

/ˌəʊvə(ɹ)ˈtɒp/

Paul put the skull back in its proper place, put back the coffin lid, and kicked dirt and rocks overtop.

2013, Philipp Meyer, The Son, Simon & Schuster, published 2014, page 154:


box score

box scores (plural)
boxscore (alternative)

(sports, Canada, US) A score showing the final scores of the teams in a game, as well as certain individual and team achievements.


harbourfront

harbourfronts (plural)
harborfront (alternative)

Jones' Boathouse beside James’ Bay Bridge rented out boats and canoes; many people living along the harbour front had boathouses and boats of their own, for regattas and water sports were one of Victoria's chief attractions.

1942, Emily Carr, “Regatta”, in The Book of Small, Toronto, Ont.: Oxford University Press, →OCLC:

Construction of new wave deck near harbourfront well underway.

2009 February 27, Vanessa Lu, “Chirpy Miller joins Twitter craze”, in Toronto Star:

(British, Canada) The area that fronts on a harbor


ass call

(Canada, US, slang) An unintentional telephone call made from a cell phone in a back pant pocket due to body movement or sitting down.


butt call

(slang, Canada, US) An unintentional telephone call made from a cell phone in a back pant pocket due to body movement or sitting down.


buzzworthy

en-adj

buzzworthy (comparative more buzzworthy, superlative most buzzworthy)

more buzzworthy (comparative)
most buzzworthy (superlative)

The most buzzworthy has to be Glasgow's Optimo, an underground Glimmers, for what should be a sell-out at the Toff, while the following night obscure UK disco stalwart Felix Dickinson plays the club.

2009 February 12, “Club land”, in Herald Sun:

(chiefly Canada, US) Worthy of enthusiastic popular attention, or buzz


paddleboat

paddleboats (plural)
paddle boat (alternative)
paddle-boat (alternative)

Naval sources report the amazing rescue of two 65-year-old women who were found floating 400 miles off the coast of California — in a tiny paddleboat!

1996 April 2, Lisa Merakis, “Two women found floating in paddleboat — 400 miles from shore!”, in Weekly World News, →ISSN, page 33, [satirical]:

Outdoors, guests can take a paddleboat and pedal their way around shaded waterways filled with swans and Nile perch

2010, Anne Anderson, Insiders' Guide® to the Greater Tampa Bay Area (Insiders' Guide Series), Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 70:

(nautical, US, Canada, Australia) a pedalo


movie theatre

(Australia, Canada, New Zealand) Alternative spelling of movie theater


grow operation

(Canada) An illegal marijuana-growing operation, usually indoors.


Bay Street

(Canada, by extension) Financial interests in Canada, especially in Toronto.


Sussex Drive

Ellipsis of 24 Sussex Drive, the street address of the prime minister's residence, formerly 24 Sussex Street.

2009: Elizabeth Payne, “Cooking is a skill that is becoming essential”, Ottawa Citizen, undated.
Campaigns are underway to persuade households, including even those at 10 Downing Street and the White House (no word on Sussex Drive), to plant vegetable gardens this year as buffers against dismal economic times.

(Canada, idiomatic) The Canadian prime minister, or the federal government of Canada.


24 Sussex Drive

From 24 + Sussex Drive. The street address of the Canadian prime minister's official residence, since 1951. Until about 1958, 24 Sussex Street (see also drive). The road was named in the early 19th century, after Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773–1843).

So I guess he figured that if he kept on plugging away as he had down there, the same formula would get him into 24 Sussex Drive. But it didn't.

1975, Winnett Boyd, Kenneth McDonald, The National Dilemma and the Way Out, BMG, page 33:

By 1965 Pierre Trudeau, en route to Ottawa and 24 Sussex Drive, had concluded that advocates of an associate state or special status were ‘those who do not feel capable of saying they are separatists and carrying their thinking to its logical conclusion.’

1977, John T. Saywell, The Rise of the Parti Québécois 1967–76, University of Toronto Press, →ISBN, page 5:

(Canada) The office of Prime Minister of Canada.

24, promenade Sussex

residence on Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada


boost

en-verb

boost (third-person singular simple present boosts, present participle boosting, simple past and past participle boosted)

boosts (present singular third-person)
boosting (participle present)
boosted (participle past)
boosted (past)

Unknown. The verb is first recorded 1815; the noun, 1825. Compare Scots boost (“to move; drive off; shoo away”), bost, boast (“to threaten; scold”), Middle English boosten, bosten (“to threaten”). Possible doublet of boast.

cog

It's easy to boost a dead battery, but this can be dangerous if it's done the wrong way.

1980, Popular Mechanics, volume 154, number 4, page 152:

If I want to use the charged Montana battery to boost my old Summit where do I connect the negative cable on the good battery of the Montana?

2004, Doug Mitchell, “how to connect for boost?”, in alt.autos.gm (Usenet):

Virtue is therefore like boosting one car battery from another: you want to connect positive to positive and negative to negative.

2010, Thomas Hurka, The Best Things in Life: A Guide to What Really Matters, page 121:

(Canada, transitive) To jump-start a vehicle by using cables to connect the battery in a running vehicle to the battery in a vehicle that won't start.


ouchie

ouchies (plural)
outchie (alternative)
owchie (alternative)
owtchie (alternative)

(colloquial, Canada, US, childish) Synonym of owie (“a painful but minor injury”)


banjo eyes

(US, Canada, slang) Wide-open eyes, as from being surprised or startled.


candy-ass

candy-asses (plural)
candyass (alternative)
candy-arse (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-candy-ass.wav

(slang, sometimes vulgar, often humorous, somewhat endearing, US, Canada) A cowardly or timid person; a wimp.


study hall

en-noun

study hall (countable and uncountable, plural study halls)

He finished drafting his essay in study hall.

(Canada, US) A class period, usually in boarding school or high school, where students are afforded the time for independent study and homework assignments, as part of the curriculum or after hours, the last notably as a punishment called detention.

The supervising teacher's stern expression at the front of the drab study hall left little doubt that no nonsense would be tolerated there.

(Canada, US) The classroom or other school hall used for such a purpose.


UBC

“Iʼm going to UBC in the fall.”
“Good for you. Thatʼs a good school.”

2020, Emily St. John Mandel, The Glass Hotel, Picador (2021), page 26:

University of British Columbia
w:University of British Columbia

(Canada) Initialism of University of British Columbia.

United Brotherhood of Carpenters
w:United Brotherhood of Carpenters

(Canada, US) Initialism of United Brotherhood of Carpenters.


tea cozy

(Canada, US) Alternative form of tea cosy


government wharf

government wharf (plural government wharves or government wharfs)

government wharves (plural)
government wharfs (plural)

(chiefly Canada) A government-built wharf.


cheapass

en-adj

cheapass (comparative more cheapass, superlative most cheapass)

more cheapass (comparative)
most cheapass (superlative)

(Canada, US, slang) Cheap, stingy; unwilling to spend money.


cheapass

(Canada, US, slang) A stingy person; a cheapskate.


shoot the boots

en-verb

shoot the boots (third-person singular simple present shoots the boots, present participle shooting the boots, simple past and past participle shot the boots)

shoots the boots (present singular third-person)
shooting the boots (participle present)
shot the boots (participle past)
shot the boots (past)

The family moved about—Hamilton, Mississauga, Jane and Weston Road. "That's when my whole life switched from the good guy to the bad guy," he says now. "Right here in this city. The first day of school, I learned how to spit. Shoot the boots."

2000 June 1, Jennifer Wells, “Trouble with Tracy”, in Toronto Life, Canada, retrieved 2009-04-13:

It was strange because the boy I was fighting with had developed a reputation for being able to shoot the boots and I was supposed to be good with my hands.

2006, Paul Dupuis, Armageddon Forever, Trinity Enterprise (Canada), p. 2

(Canada, idiomatic, slang) To kick swiftly and violently, especially in the groin.


frazil

en-noun

frazil (countable and uncountable, plural frazils)

From Canadian French frasil, frazil, fraisil, from French fraisil (“coal cinders”), from Old French faisil.

Following currents that flow across the Bering and Chukchi shelves, microplastics from the Pacific that arrive in Arctic waters are gathered up by the tiny crystals that clump together to form ‘frazil’ (the gloss of soft ice that forms on the surface of the water) and then are bound into the sea ice.

2020, David Farrier, “The Library of Babel”, in Footprints, 4th Estate, →ISBN:

(Canada, US) A collection of stray ice crystals that form in fast-moving water.

frazil

a collection of stray ice crystals that form in fast-moving water


last post

Twenty minutes is allowed for the duration of the roll-call, the commencement and finish of which are sounded on the bugle, and are called the first and last ‘posts.’

1876 September 30, “Drummers and Fifers”, in Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, volume 4, number 666, page 629:

(British and Canada) The sounding of a bugle, signalling the evening hour to bed down, also used at military funerals and remembrance services.


lest we forget

From Rudyard Kipling's 1897 poem Recessional.

(British and Canada) Used in Remembrance Day ceremonies as a caution against forgetting those who died in war.


swamper

To use such a brake on the front wagon, the driver stood up on the seat, letting the team follow the leaders, and threw his whole weight on the upper end of the bar, while the swamper braked the rear wagon.

1926 Apr, Jacob Allred, “Driving the last 20-mule team across Death Valley”, in Popular Mechanics, page 610:

(Canada, US, slang) A truck driver's assistant; an assistant to a driver of horses, mules or bullocks.


DIAND

(Canada) Acronym of Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.


talk out one's ass

en-verb

talk out one's ass (third-person singular simple present talks out one's ass, present participle talking out one's ass, simple past and past participle talked out one's ass)

talks out one's ass (present singular third-person)
talking out one's ass (participle present)
talked out one's ass (participle past)
talked out one's ass (past)

talk out of one's ass
talk out of one's ass#English

(chiefly Canada, US, slang) Synonym of talk out of one's ass.


baffed out

en-adj

baffed out (comparative more baffed out, superlative most baffed out)

more baffed out (comparative)
most baffed out (superlative)
baffed-out (alternative)

My feet are wet. The Velcro gives when I walk and I have to bend over, with Pete in my arms, in the mall or near the parking meter outside the supermarket, to secure the flap, and it gives again. The boots are baffed out.

2005, Lisa Lynne Moore, Open, Canada: Anansi, →ISBN, pages 94-95:

A baffed-out old schooner called The Michigan was being sent over the cataract.

2008, Hans Werner, "From sublime icon to camp spectacle" (review of Inventing Niagara: Beauty, Power and Lies by Ginger Strand), Toronto Star (Canada), 29 June (retrieved 3 May 2009)

[H]e had spent all day in the tavern, with the boys. By the time he got home and ready for work, he was pretty baffed out.

2009, William Weatherstone, “How I Got Started”, in TheDieselGypsy.com, Canada:

(chiefly Canada, informal) Worn out, exhausted, in dilapidated condition.


assmunch

(Canada, US, sometimes vulgar, slang, humorous) A despicable person.


buttmunch

Oh, now we have buttmunches talking how this is off charter! Isn't that great. Why don't you go find new ways to cheat, Scott?

1993 September 20, James P. Stuckey, “Re: Serpents/Rangers”, in rec.games.empire (Usenet), retrieved 2018-10-04, message-ID <CDnw31.KCH@rahul.net>:

At least she knew they were listening, but she responded to her classmate, "Don't you think I know that, you buttmunch?"

1999, Rose Wood, Dysinhibition Syndrome:

[…] and when some righteous buttmunch like Mike Barbour jacks him up, some ultra-righteous coach, say maybe Simet, has Barbour running stairs.

I had a cousin, name was Skeeter, which should tell ya something about what kinda PWT oxycontin-suckin' lowlife hillbilly buttmunch this guy was.

(Canada, US, slang, somewhat vulgar, humorous) Term of abuse for a stupid or contemptible person.


redberry

Vaccinium vitis-idaea
Vaccinium vitis-idaea#Translingual

(Canada, Labrador) The lingonberry or cowberry, Vaccinium vitis-idaea.


Victoria Day

From Victoria + day, after Queen Victoria (24 May 1819–1901).

(Canada) A holiday commemorating the birthdays of Queen Victoria and the reigning monarch of Canada, falling on the last Monday before May 25.


nonfreeway

They also recorded the distance of each child’s home from the nearest limited-access highway and from other major nonfreeway roads.

2007 January 30, Nicholas Bakalar, “Highway Exhaust Stunts Lung Growth, Study Finds”, in New York Times:

(US, Canada) That is not, or does not relate to, a freeway.


freezie

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-freezie.wav

(Canada) A frozen snack consisting of flavoured ice in a tube; a freezepop.


standard of identity

en-noun

standard of identity (plural standards of identity)

(US, Canada, law) A government regulation establishing the criteria which must be met before a product may be labeled as being a certain food.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Food and Drug Administration
standard of identity


whisky jack

whisky jacks (plural)
whiskey jack (alternative)
whiskey-jack (alternative)
whiskeyjack (alternative)
whisky-jack (alternative)
whiskyjack (alternative)

Perhaps an alteration of whisky john, a corruption of Cree wîskacân / ᐄᐧᐢᑲᒑᐣ (iiyskacaan), or perhaps directly from Cree wîskicâk ᐄᐧᐢᑭᒑᐠ (iiyskicaak). See also Wisakedjak on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Perisoreus canadensis
Perisoreus canadensis#Translingual

(Canada) The gray jay, Perisoreus canadensis.


shit fit

shit fits (plural)
shit-fit (alternative)
shitfit (alternative)

When the Republicans found out that Wilson's second bill was actually being credited to Al Blumenthal and Fred Ohrenstein, two Democrats the Republicans have a particular animosity toward, they, to put it mildly, threw a shit-fit.

1974, Phil Tracy, "State Secrets, The Village Voice, 23 May, p. 3 (retrieved 17 June 2009)

My sweet little usually mellow kitty was having a total shit fit, screaming her head off.

2007, Kris Carr, Sheryl Crow, Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips, →ISBN, page 25:

(chiefly US, Canada, vulgar) A childish display of anger or frustration; a tantrum; a frantic outburst.


Florida room

From its use in and association with the southeastern state of Florida in the United States. Cf. Arizona room.

Here In Florida Mrs. Jones raises begonias in her Florida room.

1965 January 25, “Club News: Pests To Be Topic”, in St. Petersburg Independent, retrieved 2009-06-23, page 11A:

Before proceeding with furniture, Akerman advises removing the glass enclosing the Florida room, as it creates a small awkward space.

2007 October 20, Donna Jean MacKinnon, “Keep your decorating light, airy to spruce up large condo”, in Toronto Star, Canada, retrieved 2009-06-23:

Community amenities will include a spacious parlor/lobby, library/business center and sitting area, resident community room, fitness room, Florida room and front and rear patios.

2009 June 17, “Nonprofit Developer to Build Senior Housing in St. Mary's”, in Southern Maryland Online, retrieved 2009-06-23:

(US and Canada, especially East Coast US and Florida) Synonym of sunroom, especially one without heating and enclosed with screens rather than glass windows.


in the light of

In the light of faith I gain wisdom in the wisdom of the Word your Son; in the light of faith I am strong, constant, persevering; in the light of faith I have hope: It does not let me faint along the way.

1980, Catherine of Siena, translated by Suzanne Noffke, The Dialogue, New Jersey: Paulist Press, page 365:

2005, Simon Blackburn, “hermeneutic circle," entry in The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, page 165,
Similarly, we may hold that the past can only be understood in the light of the present, and the present only understood in the light of the past.

In the light of cases such as this, one should perhaps be careful about suggesting general disapproval of ‘consumer’ objections to wind farm development.

2007, Jane Holder, Maria Lee, Environmental Protection, Law and Policy: Text and Materials, page 712:

(figuratively, chiefly UK and Canada) Based on conclusions derived from (a source of knowledge, evidence or inspiration).


Polack

Polacks (plural)
Polak (alternative)
Pollack (alternative)
Pollock (alternative)
Polock (alternative)

From Polish Polak (“a Polish person”). Cognate to French Polak, and akin to Swedish polack.

which to him appear'd / To be a preparation 'gainſt the Poleak

c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], page 260, column 2, line 63:

So leuied as before, againſt the Poleak.

c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], page 260, column 2, line 75:

First therefore was he employed into Poland, where by Sigismund, the king of Poland and of Suecia, he was received with great magnificence and applause both of the Polack himself and of his people.

1610, Thomas Middleton, “Sir R. Sherley Sent Ambassador, etc.”, in Arthur Henry Bullen, editor, The Works of Thomas Middleton, volume VIII, published 1886, page 307:

(now Canada, US now offensive slang) A Pole, or person of Polish descent.


in place

They ran in place with full packs for an hour.

In the event of a radiation leak, shelter in place: do not attempt to find a community shelter.

(chiefly Canada, US) Without changing position.


vanity plate

(US, Canada) A license plate whose identifier is chosen by the registering owner, usually to suggest a word or phrase.


houseware

houseware (usually uncountable, plural housewares)

(Canada, US) Domestic utensils, especially for the kitchen; household goods.


petty officer first class

petty officer first class (plural petty officers first class)

petty officer second class
petty officer second class

(Canada, Navy) A warrant officer in the Canadian Forces Maritime Command, ranking above petty officer second class and below chief petty officer second class.


petty officer second class

petty officer second class (plural petty officers second class)

non-commissioned officer
non-commissioned officer

petty officer first class
petty officer first class

(Canada, Navy) A non-commissioned officer in the Canadian Forces Maritime Command, ranking above master seaman and below petty officer first class.


master seaman

(Canada, Navy) A non-commissioned officer in the Canadian Forces Maritime Command, ranking above leading seaman and below petty officer second class.


leading seaman

(Canada, Navy) A non-commissioned officer in the Canadian Forces Maritime Command, ranking above able seaman and below master seaman.


chief petty officer second class

chief petty officer second class (plural chief petty officers second class)

chief petty officers second class (plural)

(Canada, Navy) A warrant officer in the Canadian Forces Maritime Command, ranking above petty officer first class and below chief petty officer first class.


chief petty officer first class

chief petty officer first class (plural chief petty officers first class)

chief petty officers first class (plural)

(Canada, Navy) A warrant officer in the Canadian Forces Maritime Command, ranking above chief petty officer second class.


two solitudes

First used by German poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) and applied to Canadian society in the title of a 1945 novel by Canadian author Hugh MacLennan.

[I]t may be pleaded that scholastic philosophy as it exists in Quebec has neither influenced, nor been influenced by, the development of modern philosophy elsewhere throughout the country during the last hundred years. Philosophically, Canada is a land of "two solitudes."

1951, John A. Irving, “Philosophical Trends in Canada Between 1850 and 1950”, in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, volume 12, number 2, page 224:

Montreal, where French and English have not merged but coexist in ‘two solitudes,’ has Latin flair but British solidity.

1976, J. Wreford Watson, “Review: The Development of the Canadian City”, in The Geographical Journal, volume 142, number 3, page 509:

In tracing the development of the discipline in twentieth century Canada, it became evident that demography had progressed through a number of periods. The years to 1950 represented a period of parallel and fairly independent growth in English-speaking and French-speaking regions, with little contact and communication; it is best described as a period of "one science, two solitudes."

2001, Sylvia T. Wargon, “Connections: Demography and Sociology in Twentieth Century Canada”, in The Canadian Journal of Sociology, volume 26, number 3, page 317:

(Canada, social criticism) The historical and, by some accounts, current dysfunctional relationship between the Anglophone and Francophone groups in Canada, characterized by poor communication and mutual exclusion.


Trudeau salute

Trudeau salutes (plural)
Pierre Trudeau salute (alternative)
Pierre Trudeau Salute (alternative)
Trudeau Salute (alternative)

After former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who made memorable use of the gesture.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:Trudeau salute.

(Canada, euphemistic) The finger (obscene gesture).


rhyme off

en-verb

rhyme off (third-person singular simple present rhymes off, present participle rhyming off, simple past and past participle rhymed off)

rhymes off (present singular third-person)
rhyming off (participle present)
rhymed off (participle past)
rhymed off (past)

Say, that was quite a list of expenses Heffering rhymed off.

1944 January 8, “Talk of the Town”, in Toronto Daily Star, Canada, page 11:

However, she rhymed off a list of high achievers and well-known personalities who were known to suffer from learning disabilities.

1977 September 1, “Businessmen get involved with Riverdale students”, in North Shore News, Canada, retrieved 2009-07-24, page 15:

Sitting in an armchair beside a blazing fire in a community centre, Mr. Saakashvili rhymed off a list of his government's accomplishments.

2008 January 4, Jane Armstrong, “Is life any better in Georgia, ‘beacon of democracy’?”, in Globe and Mail, Canada, retrieved 2009-07-24:

(chiefly Canada, idiomatic, transitive) To list or recite quickly.


pedo-

paedo- (alternative)
pædo- (alternative)

From Ancient Greek παῖς (paîs, “child”).


Winnipeg couch

en-noun

Winnipeg couch (plural Winnipeg couches)

From Winnipeg + couch. First use appears c. 1945-1947.

He slept between sheets and on a flounced Winnipeg couch that stood in one corner of the twelve-foot square room that served as his cell.

1947, W.O. Mitchell, Who has seen the wind, Macmillan, page 261:

(Canada) A simple couch, having no back or arms, that can be converted into a double bed.


blow smoke up someone's ass

en-verb

blow<,,blew,blown> smoke up someone's ass

blow smoke up someone's ass (third-person singular simple present blows smoke up someone's ass, present participle blowing smoke up someone's ass, simple past blew smoke up someone's ass, past participle blown smoke up someone's ass)

blows smoke up someone's ass (present singular third-person)
blowing smoke up someone's ass (participle present)
blew smoke up someone's ass (past)
blown smoke up someone's ass (participle past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Sapaa-blow smoke up someone's ass.wav

(Canada, US, slang, vulgar) Alternative form of blow smoke


common room

He was […] none of your free-and-easy companions, who would scrape their boots upon the fire-dogs in the common room, and be not at all particular on the subject of spittoons; […]

1841 February–November, Charles Dickens, “Barnaby Rudge. Chapter 10.”, in Master Humphrey’s Clock, volume II, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 289:

Any expected permanent way checks are indicated daily on a map in the enginemen's common room.

1950 June, N. H. Bousfield, “Angers, a French Provincial Railway Centre”, in Railway Magazine, page 371:

(UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand) A shared lounge found in dormitories, universities, military bases, etc.


lard-ass

(Canada, US, slang, derogatory) An overweight person.


CMA

en-noun

CMA (countable and uncountable, plural CMAs)

(Canada, countable) Abbreviation of Census Metropolitan Area.

certified management accountant
certified management accountant#English

(Canada, countable) Initialism of certified management accountant.


bust a cap in someone's ass

en-verb

bust a cap in someone's ass (third-person singular simple present busts a cap in someone's ass, present participle busting a cap in someone's ass, simple past and past participle busted a cap in someone's ass or bust a cap in someone's ass)

busts a cap in someone's ass (present singular third-person)
busting a cap in someone's ass (participle present)
busted a cap in someone's ass (participle past)
busted a cap in someone's ass (past)
bust a cap in someone's ass (participle past)
bust a cap in someone's ass (past)

pop a cap in someone's ass
pop a cap in someone's ass#English

(slang, Canada, US) Synonym of pop a cap in someone's ass


faucetlike

en-adj

faucetlike (comparative more faucetlike, superlative most faucetlike)

more faucetlike (comparative)
most faucetlike (superlative)

(Canada, US, rare) Resembling or characteristic of a faucet.


running shoe

For example, if some people are wearing their joggers as fashion statement rather than as injury preventers, then perhaps their plan to buy expensive running shoes is actually sound.

2016, Ray Wyatt, Plan Prediction: Which Policy is Preferred by Which People?, page 69:

(Canada, US, Australia) Sneaker, not cleats; tennis shoes; normal gym shoes.


areaway

“I have three rooms here, and the back one opens into a kind of areaway from which I get into an abandoned storeroom, or I guess it’s an attic. […]”

1922, Zane Grey, chapter 7, in The Day of the Beast, New York: Harper, page 116:

At the basement door, which as in all these houses led out into the areaway below the front stoop, Krupong said, “Is there a toilet down here?”

1969, Hortense Calisher, chapter 11, in The New Yorkers, Boston: Little, Brown, page 307:

(Canada, US) An outdoor passage offering access to a basement.


CGA

certified general accountant
certified general accountant#English

(countable, Canada) Initialism of certified general accountant.


nonaluminum

(Canada, US) Not of or pertaining to aluminum.


Oka

From French, from Mohawk [Term?] (“a kind of pike [fish]”) . The cheese is named for the village.

der

(Canada) A kind of pungent, semi-soft cheese, originally made by Trappist monks in Oka, Quebec.


holiday season

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-holiday season.wav

What are your plans for the holiday season?

(US, Canada) The period of the late fall and early winter when several holidays occur, such as Halloween, American Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa


window treatment

en-noun

window treatment (plural window treatments)

(interior decoration, chiefly US, Canada) A set of decorations for a window, often including curtains or blinds.


meet with

en-verb

meet with (third-person singular simple present meets with, present participle meeting with, simple past and past participle met with)

meets with (present singular third-person)
meeting with (participle present)
met with (participle past)
met with (past)

‘They want to meet with you at the Annexe as soon as possible. I'm to ring back by yesterday.’
‘They want what?’
‘To meet you. But they use the preposition.’
‘Do they? Do they really? Good Lord. I suppose it's the German influence. Or is it old English? Meet with. Well I must say.’ And he lumbered off to the bathroom to shave.

1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society, published 2010, page 239:

(chiefly US, Canada) To have a meeting with (someone).


schlockmeister

From schlock + -meister, originally “seller of inferior goods”.

Or he could be viewed as a schlockmeister lowering standards for an inarticulate public, especially women—so often conceived as mass-cultural dupes.

2014, Eric Weisbard, Top 40 Democracy […] , University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 4:

Hearing Mamet call Spielberg a pretentious schlockmeister was even more shocking to the alderman—to all the aldermen present, in fact, and to Daley, too—than hearing him say he hadn't seen Private Ryan.

2022, Adam Levin, Mount Chicago, Doubleday, →ISBN:

(slang, derogatory, chiefly Canada, US) A writer of schlock; an author, film director, etc. who produces tasteless and inferior works.


goat rodeo

For example, a shooting incident had turned into a 20 police car "goat rodeo." The entire area was blocked by the multitude of police cars...

1996, Barbara Isabel Hummel, Managing the world: an analysis of expressive folklore among paramedics:

Old FAA hands, who are trying to keep this goat rodeo moving in a straight line, are still hopeful that this will all shake out in time...

2004, David Clarke, Technology and terrorism:

I should have known after a Monday like that, that Tuesday would be a veritable goat rodeo.

“McConnell has zero interest in presiding over another goat rodeo,” a second health care lobbyist told me.

2017, Dylan Scott, Republicans wind up one last Hail Mary to repeal Obamacare:

(Canada, US, slang) A chaotic, unmanageable situation.


Newfoundland speed bump

en-noun

Newfoundland speed bump (plural Newfoundland speed bumps)

[W]e bought a widely sold poster with the caption "Newfoundland Speed Bump" above the photograph of an ornately antlered bull moose halting traffic.

1992 August 16, Jack Schnedler, “On the Edge in Newfoundland”, in Chicago Sun-Times, page 1:

He pitched his first freelance feature to Canadian Geographic . . . a cover story about the province's plaguelike overpopulation of moose, also known as Newfoundland speed bumps.

2009, Eric Harris, “Editor's notebook: To the Tablelands,”, in Canadian Geographic, volume 129, number 5, page 9:

(Canada, humorous) A moose, especially one which is in a roadway.


jerkwad

And frankly, jerkwad, you're not worthy to lick the dirt off his briefcase.

2001, William Bernhardt, Murder One, Ballantine, →ISBN, page 110:

Hidge said, "Someone with a license, jerkwad."

2001, Bill Roorbach, The Smallest Color, Counterpoint, 2003 pbk ed., p. 222

You're not crazy, just extremely annoying. Go soak your head, jerkwad.

2003 December 16, “Confidentials”, in Weekly World News, page 23:

(slang, derogatory, Canada, US) A jerk; an obnoxious person.


Hicksville

en-proper noun

Hicksville (countable and uncountable, plural Hicksvilles)

Hicksvilles (plural)
hicksville (alternative)

From hick + -s- + -ville (sense 2). In Ohio and Long Island (New York) at least, from the surname Hicks + -ville.

(Canada, US, humorous) A hamlet or small rural community populated by hicks.


paper towel

(Canada, US, Australia, countable) A sheet of absorbent paper, used for cleaning and food preparation, usually sold in and dispensed from rolls.


conditional sentence

en-noun

conditional sentence (plural conditional sentences)


theatre

theatre (countable and uncountable, plural theatres)

From Middle English theater, theatre, from Old French theatre, from Latin theatrum, from Ancient Greek θέατρον (théatron, “a place for viewing”), from θεάομαι (theáomai, “to see, watch, observe”).

der

Mother[…]considered that the exclusiveness of Peter's circle was due not to its distinction, but to the fact that it was an inner Babylon of prodigality and whoredom, from which every Kensingtonian held aloof, except on the conventional tip-and-run excursions in pursuit of shopping, tea and theatres.

1921, Ben Travers, chapter 2, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:

City's players and supporters travelled from one end of the emotional scale to the other in those vital seconds, providing a truly remarkable piece of football theatre and the most dramatic conclusion to a season in Premier League history.

2012 May 13, Phil McNulty, “Man City 3-2 QPR”, in BBC Sport:

But the picture was different elsewhere - Theatre Royal Windsor recorded full houses, although the managing director stated that the actors had trouble getting to and from the theatre.

2023 December 27, David Turner, “Silent lines...”, in RAIL, number 999, page 31:

(chiefly Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK) Alternative spelling of theater

(Canada, rarely Australia and New Zealand) A cinema; movie theatre.


off like a prom dress

Pun on two senses of off, with the implication that a couple at a prom are likely to have sexual intercourse. Compare off like a bride's nightie.

When we heard the police car pull up, we were off like a prom dress.

(simile, slang, Canada, US) Making a start, or departing, very rapidly.


headright

By 1846 we had moved past the line of settlement, to my father's headright on the Pedernales.

2013, Philipp Meyer, The Son, Simon & Schuster, published 2014, page 4:

(Canada, US, now historical) A legal grant to own unsettled land in colonial America, or the land so claimed.


crazy-ass

en-adj

crazy-ass (comparative more crazy-ass, superlative most crazy-ass)

more crazy-ass (comparative)
most crazy-ass (superlative)


Black

It contained an article written by Lacy Banko summarizing the work of Dr. Herbert Hendin, who had done a comparative study on suicide among Black people in the major American cities. Dr. Hendin found that the suicide rate among Black men between the ages of nineteen and thirty-five had doubled in the past ten to fifteen years, surpassing the rate for whites in the same age range.

1973, Huey P. Newton, J. Herman Blake, Revolutionary Suicide, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, →ISBN, page 3:

A group of Black women came in later but only observed from the sidelines.

1986, Chaya Shalom, “The only dyke from Israel”, in Off Our Backs, volume 16, number 8, →JSTOR, page 26:

Buried among the jargon of the announcement was a mention of a name for AAVE, suggested by a Black scholar in 1975^([sic]) but never adopted by linguists: Ebonics. That word, concocted from ebony (a color term from the name of a dark-colored wood) and phonics (the name of a method for teaching reading), was destined to attach to the board as if chiseled into a block of granite and hung round their necks.

1999, Geoffrey K. Pullum, “African American Vernacular English Is Not Standard English with Mistakes”, in Rebecca S. Wheeler, editor, The Workings of Language, →ISBN, page 40:

Hundreds of Seattle protesters came together Saturday to voice the sadness and fury that has spread across the country over the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after being pinned beneath the knee of a Minneapolis police officer for almost nine minutes.

2020 May 31, “Violence, destruction mar Seattle protests over the death of George Floyd”, in The Seattle Times, page A1:

(chiefly Canada, US, often UK) Alternative letter-case form of black (“of or relating to any of various ethnic groups having dark pigmentation of the skin”).


bust one's ass

en-verb

bust one's ass (third-person singular simple present busts one's ass, present participle busting one's ass, simple past and past participle busted one's ass or bust one's ass)

busts one's ass (present singular third-person)
busting one's ass (participle present)
busted one's ass (participle past)
busted one's ass (past)
bust one's ass (participle past)
bust one's ass (past)

(slang, Canada, US, vulgar) To work very hard, to put in a lot of effort.


up one's own ass

16 February 2003, The Times - Motor Racing: Coulthard’s driving passion
[David Coulthard on Michael Schumacher] Considering the success and money he's earned, it'd be easy for him to disappear so far up his own arse, but he hasn't; there's something down-to-earth there

It's nice to be able to look back on the thing, because I was so up my own ass at the time about everything that it was hard to enjoy all the craziness...

9 December 2003 The Advocate (magazine) No. 904

19 February 2006 Sunday People - EXCLUSIVE: ON ME WEB CAM, SON!
Just like Leslie Grantham who also slagged off his costars, Forgeham blasted Zoe as "egotistical" and said she was "full of herself...and up her own ass"

(idiomatic, vulgar, Canada, US) Having an excessively high opinion of oneself, excessively preoccupied with one's own affairs, or lost in self-regarding abstraction.


SIRC

w:Security Intelligence Review Committee

(Canada) Acronym of Security Intelligence Review Committee.

CSARS

acronym of Security Intelligence Review Committee


Communications Security Establishment

en-proper noun

the Communications Security Establishment

signals intelligence
signals intelligence

(Canada) The Canadian foreign signals intelligence and cryptography agency.

Centre de la sécurité des télécommunications

Communications Security Establishment Canada


the Communications Security Establishment Canada

Communications Security Establishment
Communications Security Establishment

(Canada) Communications Security Establishment.

Centre de la sécurité des télécommunications Canada


CSEC

Communications Security Establishment Canada#English

(Canada) Initialism of Communications Security Establishment Canada.


RCAF

Royal Canadian Air Force
w:Royal Canadian Air Force

(Canada, military, aviation) Initialism of Royal Canadian Air Force.


CAF

Canadian Armed Forces
w:Canadian Armed Forces

(Canada, military) Initialism of Canadian Armed Forces.

Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force#English

(Canada, military, aviation) Initialism of Canadian Air Force., predecessor of and successor to the Royal Canadian Air Force


CTM

en-noun

CTM (countable and uncountable, plural CTMs)

(Canada, finance, marketing) Abbreviation of Canadian Tire Money.


An R with a cross-stroke indicating an abbreviation (of recipe, response, retrograde etc). In the case of a prescription, abbreviating Latin recipe (“take this”, second-person singular imperative of recipiō); it is sometimes typeset as, or even interpreted as, a digraph Rx. Compare also Dx (“diagnose, diagnosis”) and Hx (“history”).

der

second-person singular imperative of <i class="Latn mention" lang="la">recipiō</i>

(medicine, pharmacy, Canada, US, Philippines) Prescription.


cannista

“Our cannistas have worked tirelessly to understand how to guide people … where we can show them what a terpene is, what THC and CBD are, what strains are potentially the best for the outcomes they’re looking to have,” Mison said.

2018 October 16, Dayla Lahring, “Cannabis is legal – now what?”, in St. Albert Gazette:

The store also has a dedicated “education room” or “experimental room,” where customers can search tablets or talk to the shop’s cannabis educators — or “cannistas” — about different strains and consumption methods.

2019 April 1, “As retail pot shops launch in Ontario, Ottawa’s three stores open their doors”, in Global News:

Our Cannistas share inspiring insights, easy-to-follow advice and as much or as little education as you want, making your purchase simple and snappy.

2020 March 22, “Cannista (Educator)”, in Canada Jobs, archived from the original on 2020-03-22:

(Canada) A service employee at a marijuana shop.


swap meet

swap meets (plural)
swapmeet (alternative)

(Canada, US) A meet for the purpose of trading, including buying and selling or swapping (bartering); a flea market.


work someone's butt off

en-verb

work someone's butt off (third-person singular simple present works someone's butt off, present participle working someone's butt off, simple past and past participle worked someone's butt off)

works someone's butt off (present singular third-person)
working someone's butt off (participle present)
worked someone's butt off (participle past)
worked someone's butt off (past)

Her son, Dominic, had been ranked third at the end of his junior year, but had “worked his butt off this year,” she said.

2021 June 11, Stephanie Saul, quoting Melissa Borgioli, “Two Black Students Won School Honors. Then Came the Calls for a Recount.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

work someone's ass off
work someone's ass off#English

(Canada, US, vulgar, slang) Synonym of work someone's ass off.


DND

D&D (alternative)
DnD (alternative)
D'N'D (alternative)

Department of National Defence
w:Department of National Defence

(military, Canada) Initialism of Department of National Defence.


luck in

luck in (third-person singular simple present lucks in, present participle lucking in, simple past and past participle lucked in)

lucks in (present singular third-person)
lucking in (participle present)
lucked in (participle past)
lucked in (past)

I hope I luck in and win the draw.

(informal, US, Canada, Australia) To experience good luck; to be fortunate or lucky.


ass-kisser

ass-kissers (plural)
ass kisser (alternative)

(Canada, US, slang, vulgar) Someone who kisses ass (who acts obsequiously in order to gain another's favor).


LCBO

Liquor Control Board of Ontario
w:Liquor Control Board of Ontario

(Canada, Ontario) Initialism of Liquor Control Board of Ontario.


LCBO

(Canada, Ontario) A liquor store operated by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario


screw-off

You know, when a guy is a screw-off you got to discipline him.

1997, Robert W. Snyder, Transit talk: New York's bus and subway workers tell their stories, page 137:

I've always considered that a polite way of telling a parent that her child is a screw-off, a goofball of major talent.

1988, Ann Edwards Cannon, Cal Cameron by day, Spider-man by night, page 98:

(Canada, US, slang) Someone who often fails to do his or her work; someone known to goof off.


curry favour

curry favour (third-person singular simple present curries favour, present participle currying favour, simple past and past participle curried favour)

curries favour (present singular third-person)
currying favour (participle present)
curried favour (participle past)
curried favour (past)

(British, Canada) Alternative spelling of curry favor


play with a full deck

play with a full deck (third-person singular simple present plays with a full deck, present participle playing with a full deck, simple past and past participle played with a full deck)

plays with a full deck (present singular third-person)
playing with a full deck (participle present)
played with a full deck (participle past)
played with a full deck (past)

I think we all realize he's not playing with a full deck.

Someday our grandchildren will look up at us and say, "Where were you, Grandma, and what were you doing when you first realized that President Reagan was, er, not playing with a full deck?"

1987 April, Barbara Ehrenreich, “The Unfastened Head of State”, in Mother Jones, volume 12, number 3, page 10:

[E]very single person, who Grandma said were family members, appeared to be either mentally ill, retarded, or strung out on drugs. Grandma seemed to be playing with a full deck, but no one else was.

2009, Julie Lyons, chapter 1, in Holy Roller, →ISBN:

“My father’s favorite saying was, ‘Are you alright?’ and ‘Are you playing with a full deck?’” recalled Darren.

2014 June 4, Cary Shuman, “Former Chelsea High Football Standout and Pop Warner Coach Joe Leonard Dies at 84”, in Chelsea Record, US, retrieved 2015-10-14:

(idiomatic, chiefly US and Canada, of a person, chiefly in the negative) To behave in a manner suggesting that one is of normal intelligence, alert, and mentally stable.


S.O.L.

en-adj

S.O.L. (comparative more S.O.L., superlative most S.O.L.)

more S.O.L. (comparative)
most S.O.L. (superlative)
s.o.l. (alternative)

(Canada, US, vulgar slang) shit out of luck, meaning that luck has run out; an impasse has been reached (figuratively or literally)


striploin

en-noun

striploin (countable and uncountable, plural striploins)

striploins (plural)
strip loin (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-striploin.wav


Johnny-one-note

Johnny-one-notes (plural)
Johnny one note (alternative)
Johnny one-note (alternative)
Johnny One-note (alternative)
Johnny One Note (alternative)

Babes in Arms
Johnny One Note
Rodgers and Hart

Derives from the show tune Johnny One Note, from the Rodgers and Hart musical Babes in Arms (1937), in which the lyrics tell a story of a male vocalist named Johnny who sang with a band and could sing only one note, but sang that note extremely well.

(idiomatic, chiefly Canada, US) A person (or organization) who often expresses a strong opinion or viewpoint on a single subject or a few particular subjects.

Whether his boss (Hearst) had told him to get off his Johnny-one-note of hate toward labor leaders, foreigners and New Dealers, or whether Pegler had decided all by himself to change his tune, no one knew.

1945 July 9, “The Press: Confessions of a Grouch”, in Time, volume 46, number 1, archived from the original on 2013-08-06:

(idiomatic, chiefly Canada, US) An opinion or viewpoint on a single subject or a few particular subjects which is frequently expressed by a person or organization.


action stations

(military, British, Canada) The positions or activity assumed by the crew of a warship immediately in advance of combat or other hostile action; general quarters; also, the signal given to indicate such imminent action.


booter

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-booter.wav

“Argghh, a booter,” Sally groaned when she sloshed across a puddle too wide to jump.

1997, Ian Wilson, Sally Wilson, Gold Rush: North to Alaska and the Klondike, page 106:

(Canada, slang) The experience of stepping in a deep puddle and having one's foot become completely engulfed in water.


CHL

(Canada, ice hockey) Initialism of Canadian Hockey League.


wapato

wapatos (plural)
wapatoes (plural)
wapatoo (alternative)
wappato (alternative)

(US, Canada) Broadleaf arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia), or its edible bulbous root.


pizza store

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-pizza store.wav

(Canada, US) A restaurant specializing in pizza.


assfucker

(Canada, US, vulgar, slang) Synonym of top: the active partner in anal sex.

(Canada, US, vulgar, slang) A nasty, rude, mean, stupid or horrible person.


closing time

closing time (countable and uncountable, plural closing times)

Sometimes when you sit in a restaurant, still stuffing yourself half an hour after closing time, you feel that the tired waiter at your side must surely be despising you.

1933 January 9, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter XIV, in Down and Out in Paris and London, London: Victor Gollancz […], →OCLC:

all the women tear their blouses off / and the men they dance on the polka-dots / and it's partner found, it's partner lost / and it's hell to pay when the fiddler stops: / it's closing time

1992, Leonard Cohen (lyrics and music), “Closing Time”, in The Future:

(UK, Canada) The time when a public house or restaurant closes. Used to invite final drink orders.


seigneurie

seigneuries (plural)
seigneury (alternative)


asswad

MARIBEL: You can't cuss

2004, Catherine Trieschmann, crooked [play], Samuel French, 2009 American ed., p. 30

LANEY: I didn't cuss, I just said asswad.

In later seasons of DC [Dawson's Creek], it seemed like the writers finally caught on to what we'd known all along: Dawson is an asswad […]

2006, Tara Ariano, Sarah D. Bunting, Television Without Pity: 752 Things We Love to Hate (and Hate to Love) about TV, Quirk Books, →ISBN, page 73:

“Everyone's a stupid little shitbag when they're kids.” “Really?” “Uh-huh, and if you're not a sitbag, well, then you're a cumstain.” “Or an asswad.” “That's right.”

2024 August 12, Grace Parra Janney, “The Educational Sprinkler Device” (17:07 from the start), in Solar Opposites, season 5, episode 4, spoken by Jesse (Mary Mack):

(Canada, US, slang, mildly vulgar, derogatory or offensive) An obnoxious person; a jerk.


driveaway

driveaway (countable and uncountable, plural driveaways)

(US, Canada) A variation of car rental in which the driver contracts to deliver the vehicle to a specified location.


tire bead

(Canada, US) the edge of a tire that sits in a groove in the rim.


tippy

en-adj

tippy (comparative tippier, superlative tippiest)

tippier (comparative)
tippiest (superlative)

(Canada, US) Tending to tip or tilt over; unstable.


wine gum

(UK, Canada, New Zealand) a chewy, pastille-like jelly candy, usually brightly coloured and fruit flavoured.


emerg

These EMS people, who should just walk into the emerg, drop their patient off, and then leave, are frozen in the emerg for a long period of time, because there aren't enough resources there.

2009 January 17, Daniel Dale, “Ambulance waits get longer”, in Toronto Star::

“Rather than going to emerg and getting admitted and having the condition over a period of time, we understand that the event happened fairly quickly.

2009 May 26, Theresa Boyle, Tanya Talaga, “Swine flu Factor Probed in death”, in Toronto Star::

“What we've seen in the last few days is a number of cases that have come to emerg departments.

2009 October 1, Theresa Boyle, “Second swine-flu wave hits Toronto, southern Ontario”, in Toronto Star::

(Canada, slang, medicine) The emergency department of a hospital.


multicult

multicult (comparative more multicult, superlative most multicult)

more multicult (comparative)
most multicult (superlative)


suck ass

en-verb

suck ass (third-person singular simple present sucks ass, present participle sucking ass, simple past and past participle sucked ass)

sucks ass (present singular third-person)
sucking ass (participle present)
sucked ass (participle past)
sucked ass (past)
suck arse (alternative)

(Canada, US, stative, vulgar, slang) To be terrible; be of extremely poor quality.


Five Nations

Iroquois Confederacy
Iroquois Confederacy#English

(Canada, US) Ellipsis of Iroquois Confederacy of Five Nations. (the original the Iroquois Confederacy; the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca)


Six Nations

(Canada, US) Ellipsis of Iroquois Confederacy of Six Nations. (the Five Nations adding the Tuscarora to make Six in the Iroquois Confederacy)

Iroquois Confederacy of Six Nations

Six Nations of the Grand River
Six Nations of the Grand River#English

(Canada) Ellipsis of Six Nations of the Grand River.


na-na na-na boo-boo

/ˈnæːnəˌnæːnə ˈbuːˌbuː/

Apparently from the longer childish playground taunt sung to a tune particular to the taunt:
: I'm better than you,
: na-na, na-na, boo-boo,
: stick your head in doo-doo.
Na-na and boo-boo may be imitations of sounds a baby or young toddler might make.
Boo-boo may also indicate boo-boo, a minor injury which leaves a mark on a child such as a scraped knee.

na na na na boo boo (alternative)
nanny nanny boo boo (alternative)
na-na na-na na-na (alternative)
na na na na na na (alternative)
nanny nanny moo moo (alternative)
neener (alternative)

... is that the educators out there aren't aware of this, they don't know it or what?
Ms. Bolinger. It's like na na na na boo boo, make me do it.
[Laughter.] ...

1992, Committee on Labor and Human Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Second Congress, first session, Oversight on the status of special education in Iowa: hearing before the Subcommittee on Disability Policy of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Second Congress, first session, examining the major issues facing students, parents, teachers, related ..., Alternate ISBN: →ISBN, →ISBN, page 82:

[Translator's note by David R. Slavitt] ...here is to make clear that this is a display of Schadenfreude, an elegant cocking of the snooks, a protracted "Na-na, na-na, boo-boo," a symphonic Bronx cheer!

1998, Aeschylus, edited by David R. Slavitt and Palmar Bovie, Aeschylus, 2: The Persians. Seven against Thebes. The Suppliants. Prometheus bound, Alternate ISBN: →ISBN, →ISBN, page 5:

(Canada, US, idiomatic, colloquial, childish, derogatory, taunt, often humorous) A taunt or putdown, typically used to indicate that the speaker believes he or she has beaten the listener in a competition or is better in some other way or in a general sense; or an expression of satisfaction that the listener has received some supposedly deserved minor punishment or misfortune (that is to say, schadenfreude).


candy corn

en-noun

candy corn (usually uncountable, plural candy corns)

(US, Canada) A confection of sugar and corn syrup or honey, supposed to resemble a kernel of maize.


honour system

(British, Canada) Alternative spelling of honor system


MHA

House of Assembly
House of Assembly#English

(Australia, Canada) Initialism of member of the House of Assembly.


assless

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-assless.wav

(Canada, US, vulgar) devoid of sexual intercourse

assless chaps

(Canada, US, of trousers or chaps) uncovered at the rear


ride someone's ass

en-verb

ride someone's ass (third-person singular simple present rides someone's ass, present participle riding someone's ass, simple past rode someone's ass, past participle ridden someone's ass)

rides someone's ass (present singular third-person)
riding someone's ass (participle present)
rode someone's ass (past)
ridden someone's ass (participle past)

If he doesn't quit riding my ass, I'm gonna punch him right in his face.

(Canada, US, slang, vulgar) To find fault with someone, to constantly criticise.


man ho

I dont like man hoes.

2006 June 22, Broken heart, “Re: I can't do this anymore”, in alt.suicide.methods (Usenet):

“He’s kind of a man ho,” she says, confirming my suspicions. […] ¶ “How many girls has he slept with?”

2007, Jo Edwards, Go Figure, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 91:

How about, all you care about are man hos that plow, plant, reject and abandon that which they have helped create by encouraging women to murder the babies?

2007 May 6, "willow" (username), "Re: Why isn't J Young used as a 'test rodent' for untested chemicals", in alt.abortion and other newsgroups, Usenet

Aphrodite snorted. “I bet it was him feeling the list, not them. No one wants a guy who’s a man ho, no matter how hot he is.”

2008, P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast, Untamed: A House of Night Novel, St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, page 215:

“Man, you crazy,” said Mikel. “ […] You just a straight up man ho, yo. You can’t be a playa for ever though.”

2010, Clifton G. Pickard, Jr., Stronger Than Gravity, Dorrance Publishing, page 223


lifeway

From Middle English *lif-wei (attested as lifes wege, lives wegas), from Old English līfweġ, corresponding to life + way.

And as under colonialism, in most cases ‘traditional’ values and lifeways were treated as a barrier to economic growth and social progress, and were often purposefully eradicated.

2017, Jason Hickel, “Neoliberalism Comes Home”, in The Divide […] , London: William Heinemann, →ISBN:

(now chiefly Canada, US) One's path through life; a lifestyle or behaviour, now especially when seen as traditional.


Broad Street Bullies

From the location of home ice, the hockey rink "The Spectrum" on Broad Street, and their style of play, reminiscent of bullying.

(ice hockey, Canada, US, dated) nickname of the Philadelphia Flyers of the 1970s era


Battle of Alberta

(ice hockey, Canada) the competition between the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames teams of the NHL


Triple Crown

(horse racing, Canada) The three greatest thoroughbred races of the year restricted to three-year-olds: the Queen's Plate, Prince of Wales Stakes, and Breeders' Stakes


it figures

figures (alternative)
that figures (alternative)

(idiomatic, Canada, US) Used to indicate that a preceding event or statement by another is an unsurprising accompaniment of known facts and circumstances.


trash drawer

[On a checklist of things to have in the kitchen:] Pull-out cabinet trash drawer

2008, Susan Lang, Designing Your Dream Home: Every Question to Ask, Every Detail to Consider, page 182:

Another very useful kitchen feature is a trash drawer. This is a tall drawer that can house a large trash container.

1999, Jeanne Jones, Jeanne Jones' Healthy Cooking: For People Who Don't Have Time To Cook, page 7:

A pull-out trash drawer gives you a place to hide kitchen waste and recyclables.

1996, James A. Hufnagel, Kathie Robitz, Barbara Sabella, Kitchens: design, remodel, build, page 28:

And a big trash drawer down below for wastebasket loads.

1981, House and Garden, Vol. 153, Issues 1-6, p. 44

(Canada, US) A tall drawer, usually found in a kitchen, in which a garbage can or garbage bag can be placed, for the collection and disposal of trash.


RPP

(aviation, Canada) Initialism of recreational pilot permit.

(Canada) Initialism of registered pension plan.


Centre of the Universe

The announcer finished the report with, “All is well in the Centre of the Universe; the Toronto Maple Leafs won a hockey game last night.” I loved it. That sentiment will keep Canada together long after the politicians have finished[…]

2004, Barry D. Stewart, Across the Land --a Canadian Journey of Discovery, Trafford Publishing, →ISBN, page 96:

Back in the centre of the universe – Toronto, the 'vortex' of all known Canadian culture, most of the gigs were self-promoted, presented in the unused basement room of a hotel or the back room of a hip café.

2011, William (Bill) E. Smith, Bill Smith, Rant & Dawdle: The Fictional Memoir of Colston Willmott, Charivari Press, →ISBN, page 285:

No one is credited with coming up with the definitive jab at Toronto—the Centre of the Universe—and thus some sharp wit squandered a million-dollar trademark opportunity.

2017 October 31, Gare Joyce, Young Leafs: The Making of a New Hockey History, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 67:

(slang, Canada, derogatory) The city of Toronto, due to its perceived self-absorbed haughty attitude.


skunk cabbage

From skunk + cabbage, from the strong odor produced when the leaves are broken or torn.

It was May before the skunk cabbage began to push up through the ooze of the swamps, before the rhubarb reddened to the back corner of the garden and the spring peepers finally emerged and began abrading the edges of the night with their lovesick vibrato.

1993, TC Boyle, The Road to Wellville, Penguin, published 1994, page 297:

Symplocarpus foetidus
Symplocarpus foetidus#Translingual

(Canada, US) Any of several leafy, foul-smelling plants, especially Symplocarpus foetidus, a low-growing plant native to the wetlands of eastern North America, but also denoting Lysichiton americanus and Lysichiton camtschatcense.

臭菘

any of several leafy, foul-smelling plants


military time

Tip: If you're frustrated that the Mac is showing you the 24-hour “military time” on your menu bar (that is, 17:30 instead of 5:30 p.m.)—or that it isn't showing military time when you'd like it to—click the Clock tab and turn “Use a 24-hour clock” on or off.

2009, David Pogue, Mac OS X Snow Leopard (The Missing Manual), O'Reilly, →ISBN, page 320:


shit just got real

From the movie Bad Boys II (2003), where it was spoken by Martin Lawrence.

(Canada, US, slang, vulgar) The situation suddenly became much more dangerous or serious.


animal fries

Thousand Island dressing
Thousand Island dressing

(chiefly Canada, US) French fries that are served with melted cheese, grilled onions, and Thousand Island dressing or special sauce instead of ketchup.


pattypan

pattypans (plural)
pattipan (alternative)

(chiefly Canada, US) A small variety of squash with a scalloped rim and creamy white flesh; a pattypan squash.


green labelling

(British, Canada spelling) Any of various labelling systems intended to help customers make informed choices concerning the environmental consequences of the manufacture, use and disposal of a product.


chickaree

Onomatopoeia from its cry; compare chickadee.

We heard the sound of the chickaree

1864, Henry David Thoreau, The Maine Woods:

(Canada, US) A small squirrel, one of the species of Tamiasciurus, that lives in evergreen forests of North America.


ass-rape

en-noun

ass-rape (countable and uncountable, plural ass-rapes)

ass-rapes (plural)
assrape (alternative)
ass rape (alternative)

(Canada, US, slang, vulgar) The act of forcing anal sex upon another person.


ass-rape

en-verb

ass-rape (third-person singular simple present ass-rapes, present participle ass-raping, simple past and past participle ass-raped)

ass-rapes (present singular third-person)
ass-raping (participle present)
ass-raped (participle past)
ass-raped (past)
assrape (alternative)
ass rape (alternative)

(Canada, US, slang, vulgar) To force anal sex upon another person.

(Canada, US, slang, vulgar) To dominate in a contest.


klootchman

en-noun

klootchman (plural klootchmans or klootchmen)

klootchmans (plural)
klootchmen (plural)

Borrowed from Chinook Jargon, from Nootka, see below.

(US, Canada, western dialects) Woman, wife (especially if Native American).


suffonsify

en-verb

suffonsify (third-person singular simple present suffonsifies, present participle suffonsifying, simple past and past participle suffonsified)

suffonsifies (present singular third-person)
suffonsifying (participle present)
suffonsified (participle past)
suffonsified (past)
sophonsify (alternative)

Possibly a blend of sufficient + fancified.http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-suf1.htm

Toward the end of a dinner of prime roast beef, baked potato, salad, apple pie, and coffee, Sam Barlow would ask, "Well, young man, do you think you have had sufficient to suffonsify?"

1953, Carl Sandburg, Always The Young Strangers, Harcourt Brace, →ISBN, page 243:

(Canada, informal, uncommon) To satisfy or satiate, particularly the appetite.


sophonsify

sophonsify (third-person singular simple present sophonsifies, present participle sophonsifying, simple past and past participle sophonsified)

sophonsifies (present singular third-person)
sophonsifying (participle present)
sophonsified (participle past)
sophonsified (past)

(Canada, informal, uncommon) Alternative spelling of suffonsify


storeyed

(Canada, UK, Commonwealth) Alternative spelling of storied (“US spelling”) (Having the stated number of storeys (building levels))


lightwood

(Canada, US) Any wood used to light a fire; kindlings; especially, very resinous pine wood.


tomoz

(UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, informal) Clipping of tomorrow.


coner

Cameroon Pidgin: coner

When I lit my spliff
Just met my cat with the fattest coner

2021 October 12, AC-130 (lyrics and music), “Bell It X2”, 0:26–0:27:

Just wanna go home and smoke coners

2023 June 3, Wee Joe (lyrics and music), “Fun & Games”, 1:17–1:18:

(slang, Canada, Ireland) A marijuana cigarette tapered to a conical shape.