tattle

en-verb

tattle (third-person singular simple present tattles, present participle tattling, simple past and past participle tattled)

tattles (present singular third-person)
tattling (participle present)
tattled (participle past)
tattled (past)

From Middle Dutch tatelen, tateren (“to babble, chatter”) (modern Dutch tatelen, tateren (“to talk, chatter”)), originally imitative. The word is cognate with Saterland Frisian tätelje (“to talk nonsense, babble”), Middle Low German tāteren, tadderen (“to babble, chatter”) (whence modern German Low German tatern (“to chatter”)), Low German tateln, täteln (“to cackle, gabble”). Compare also Middle English dadel, dadull (“tattling, gossip”), and its alteration twaddle.

cog

There are some children who just like to talk about others. They are not reporting. They are tattling, telling one negative after another. Their goal is to get others in trouble. […] Children sometimes do not mean to tattle about someone else. They do it because they are having a problem with another child and just don't know any other way to handle the problem.

2009, Maryln Appelbaum, “How to Handle Children Who are Disruptive”, in How to Handle Hard-to-handle Preschoolers: A Guide for Early Childhood Educators, Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press, SAGE Publishing; Appelbaum Training Institute, →ISBN, page 4:

I trapped the girls inside their tent / Someone tattled on me / Put a frog in the bathroom vent / Someone tattled on me / Gave my dinner to a bear / Put a snake in Auntie's chair / And a tick in Gramp's rootbeer / Someone tattled on me

2009, Renee Gregory, “I’m Gettin’ Broccoli for Dinner”, in Bugs, Bears and S’mores: Songs of the Great Outdoors, Pittsburgh, Pa.: RoseDog Books, →ISBN, page 100:

Vera is a kindergarten student who loves to be the center of adult attention. She has a quick temper and frequently talks out in class. She also frequently "tattles" on other students.

2015, Deanne A. Crone, Leanne S. Hawken, Robert H. Horner, “Conducting a Functional Behavioral Assessment”, in Building Positive Behavior Support Systems in Schools: Functional Behavioral Assessment, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y., London: The Guilford Press, →ISBN, part II (Embedding Functional Behavioral Assessment within School Systems: Case Examples), page 39:

en:to report others' wrongdoings or violations

(intransitive, Canada, US, derogatory) Often said of children: to report incriminating information about another person, or a person's wrongdoing, usually to a person in a position of authority over the accused person; to tell on somebody.

доноснича

to report incriminating information or wrongdoing


tattle

en-noun

tattle (countable and uncountable, plural tattles)

Have a special small bucket called the tattle bucket. Make name cards for each child. […] When children have a tattle, instead of disrupting the class, they get their name card and put it in the tattle bucket. Look in the bucket at varying times during the day. If you see a name card, go to the child and say, "I see you have your name card in the tattle bucket. What would you like to tell me?" Many times, children will have forgotten all about the tattle.

(countable, Canada, US, derogatory) Often said of children: a piece of incriminating information or an account of wrongdoing that is said about another person.


bell pepper

bell pepper (countable and uncountable, plural bell peppers)

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

Capsicum annuum
Capsicum annuum#Translingual

(Canada, US, Philippines) Capsicum annuum, an edible, sweet, generally mild (not spicy) fruit, originating in the New World.


touch base

en-verb

touch base (third-person singular simple present touches base, present participle touching base, simple past and past participle touched base)

touches base (present singular third-person)
touching base (participle present)
touched base (participle past)
touched base (past)
touch bases (alternative)

Touch base with your boss before you start work to make sure you understand the project.

I had met with Dr. Todd right before dinner. He had wanted to touch base with me about my ongoing treatment.

2014, A. Meredith Walters, Light in the Shadows, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 55:

(by extension, idiomatic, colloquial, Canada, US, usually with "with") To meet or make contact with someone, usually to consult, review, visit, or communicate.


pierogi

en-noun

pierogi (plural pierogi or pierogies or pierogis)

pierogi (plural)
pierogies (plural)
pierogis (plural)
pierogie (alternative)
pierogy (alternative)
pirogi (alternative)
pirogy (alternative)
pirojki (alternative)
pyrogy (alternative)
pyrohy (alternative)
perog (alternative)
pierog (alternative)
pieróg (alternative)

Borrowed from Polish pierogi, the plural of pieróg (“dumpling”), which ultimately is derived from Proto-Slavic *pirъ (“party”). Unrelated to Turkish börek. Doublet of pirogi (from Russian), pirohy (from Czech and Slovak), and pyrohy/pedaheh (from Ukrainian).

(Canada, US) A square- or crescent-shaped dumpling of unleavened dough, stuffed with sauerkraut, cheese, mashed potatoes, cabbage, onion, meat, or any combination of these, or with a fruit filling.

波兰饺子 (Bōlán jiǎozi, literally “Polish dumpling(s)”)


counterclockwise

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

(US, Canada) In the direction of rotation opposite from clockwise.


counterclockwise

(US, Canada) Moving or located in the direction of rotation opposite from clockwise.


frankfurter

From German Frankfurter, the demonym of Frankfurt. Specifically, a reference to Frankfurt-am-Main.

(UK, US, Canada) A moist sausage of soft, even texture and flavor, often made from mechanically recovered meat or meat slurry.


FSA

(Canada) Initialism of forward sortation area (postal system code)


CAA

Canadian Arctic Archipelago
Canadian Arctic Archipelago#English

(geography, politics, Canada) Abbreviation of Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

Canadian Automobile Association
w:en:Canadian Automobile Association

(Canada, automotive) Initialism of Canadian Automobile Association.


hole-in-the-wall

hole-in-the-wall (plural hole-in-the-walls or holes-in-the-wall)

hole-in-the-walls (plural)
holes-in-the-wall (plural)
hole in the wall (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-hole-in-the-wall.wav

(Canada, US) A restaurant, shop or other establishment catering to customers that is particularly inconspicuous and easily overlooked.


juice box

juice boxes (plural)
juicebox (alternative)

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

(US, Canada) A small carton of fruit juice with an attached plastic straw.


cosmopolite

Borrowed from French cosmopolite, from Latin cosmopolītēs, itself borrowed from Koine Greek κοσμοπολίτης (kosmopolítēs, “citizen of the world”), from Ancient Greek κόσμος (kósmos, “world”) + πολίτης (polítēs, “citizen”).

der

κοσμοπολίτης

The painted lady butterfly […] has been seen around towns throughout North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and Africa. It's known on every continent except Antarctica, and it's even found on islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. […] Not surprisingly, the painted lady is known in some circles as the cosmopolite.

1989, May Berenbaum, chapter 5, in Ninety-nine Gnats, Nits, and Nibblers, Urbana: University of Illinois Press, page 102:

(Canada, US, dated) The butterfly painted lady (Vanessa cardui).


IAM

w:International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

(Canada, US) Initialism of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.


FCC

(Canada) Initialism of Farm Credit Corporation.


RCMP

R.C.M.P. (alternative)
R. C. M. P. (alternative)

Canada had an international reputation for politeness. The RCMP Special Branch did not.

2020, Patrick Ness, Burn, Walker Books Ltd (2021), page 50:

Royal Canadian Mounted Police
w:Royal Canadian Mounted Police

(Canada, law enforcement) Initialism of Royal Canadian Mounted Police.


NRC

N.R.C. (alternative)
N. R. C. (alternative)

National Research Council
w:National Research Council

(Canada) Initialism of National Research Council.


DAT

DATs (plural)
D.A.T. (alternative)
D. A. T. (alternative)

Dental Admission Test
w:Dental Admission Test

(Canada, US) Acronym of Dental Admission Test.


SIU

(law enforcement, Canada) Initialism of special investigation(s)/investigating unit.


FTA

Free Trade Agreement
w:Free Trade Agreement

(economics, Canada, US) Abbreviation of Free Trade Agreement. (between Canada and the United States)


PST

provincial sales tax
w:Provincial Sales Tax

(finance, Canada) Initialism of provincial sales tax.


daddy longlegs

en-noun

daddy longlegs (plural daddy longlegs or daddy longlegses)

daddy longlegs (plural)
daddy longlegses (plural)
daddy-longlegs (alternative)
daddy-long-legs (alternative)

/ˈdædɪ ˈlɒŋ(ɡ)lɛɡz/

Unlike spiders, daddy longlegs do not have a clearly marked division between thorax and abdomen. They are further distinguished from spiders in that they do not produce venom or silk.

2002, Maurice Burton, Robert Burton, The International Wildlife Encyclopedia, volume 10, page 636:

Daddy longlegs aren′t even really spiders.

2004, Clay Thompson, Marshall Trimble, The Valley 101 Great Big Book of Life, page 33:

(Australia, Canada, New Zealand, US) Any (non-spider) arachnid of the order Opiliones, mostly with long thin legs; the harvestman.


uptown

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

(chiefly Canada, US) The residential part of a city, away from the commercial center.


uptown

en-adj

uptown (comparative more uptown, superlative most uptown)

more uptown (comparative)
most uptown (superlative)

(chiefly Canada, US) In the upper part of a town.

uptown problems

She's been living in her uptown world / I bet she's never had a backstreet guy

1983, Billy Joel (lyrics and music), “Uptown Girl”:

(chiefly Canada, US, by extension) Of or relating to an affluent area or population.


uptown

Let's go uptown and try out that new restaurant.

(chiefly Canada, US) To or in the upper part of a town.


switcheroo

switcheroos (plural)
switcharoo (alternative)

/ˌswɪt͡ʃəˈɹuː/

In a corporate merger, it is usually the big company that buys a smaller one. Last week Boston's up & coming Tracerlab, Inc. pulled a switcheroo. Tracerlab, which grossed only $1,700,000 last year, bought the much bigger ($8,000,000 gross) Kelley-Koett Mfg. Co.

1951 April 30, “Business & Finance: Switcheroo”, in Time, archived from the original on 2012-09-29:

When you are dealing with American presidents, you always have to watch for the old switcheroo. Lyndon Johnson opposed Barry Goldwater's "extremism" on Vietnam, then proceeded to try to bomb Hanoi back into the stone age. Richard Nixon opposed price and wage controls, until he suddenly adopted them.

1977 April 18, Don McGillivray, “Carter, true to form, pulls the ‘switcheroo’”, in Montreal Gazette, retrieved 2012-07-27, page 22:

Elsewhere, it’s a ‘switcheroo’ ([Kevin] Kelly’s word, not mine) that will lend technology the working status of a vital force that, like ‘nature’, operates outside the reach of social imperatives.

1997, J. J. King, “The Right Connections: Tea with Kevin Kelly”, in Mute, volume 1, number 8, →ISSN:

The Manhattan Theater Club has pulled a switcheroo, delaying a planned production of Gone Home, by John Corwin, and replacing it with Four, by the 26-year-old playwright Christopher Shinn.

2001 December 21, Jesse McKinley, “On Stage and Off”, in New York Times, retrieved 2012-07-27:

(informal, Canada, US) A sneaky, unexpected, or clever swap or exchange.


freeloader

freeloaders (plural)
free-loader (alternative)

From free + load + -er, originally US 1930s.

(UK, New Zealand, Canada) A person who takes expired unsold merchandise from the back of supermarket premises.


rouse

From Middle English rousen, from Anglo-Norman reuser, ruser, originally used in English of hawks shaking the feathers of the body, from Latin recūsō, by loss of the medial 'c.' Doublet of recuse.
Figurative meaning “to stir up, provoke to activity” is from 1580s; that of “awaken” is first recorded 1590s.

(military, British and Canada) The sounding of a bugle in the morning after reveille, to signal that soldiers are to rise from bed, often the rouse.


West Coast

British Columbia Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast, New Zealand
West Coast, Tasmania

British Columbia
British Columbia#English

(chiefly Canada, uncommon) A region along the Pacific Ocean in British Columbia, Canada.


allophone

vähemmistökieltä äidinkielenään puhuva

A person whose mother tongue is one other than that spoken by the majority.

(Canada) A person whose mother tongue is neither English, French, nor (sometimes) an indigenous language.

opîtatowêw

person whose mother tongue is neither English nor French

muuta kuin englantia tai ranskaa äidinkielenään puhuva


allophone

allophone (comparative more allophone, superlative most allophone)

more allophone (comparative)
most allophone (superlative)

In every case the allophone population is vastly larger than the proportion of francophones, which ranges from 4.2 percent […] from other parts of Canada more than international immigration from abroad: despite a growing allophone presence, […]

2010, Charles Boberg, The English Language in Canada: Status, History and Comparative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 23:

As immigration increases from different parts of the world, the linguistic makeup of Canada changes. In 2006, the allophone population—individuals whose mother tongue is neither English nor French—totalled 6.3 million, […]

2010, Statistics Canada, Canada Year, →ISBN:

(Canada) Of or relating to those whose mother tongue is neither English, French, nor (sometimes) an indigenous language of Canada.

of a language neither English nor French


factum

But according to a factum filed by Crown prosecutors, Shaikh's status was "confidential informer," therefore RCMP did not direct him about what to do at the camp.

2009 January 31, Isabel Teotonio, “Police mole trapped teen, court told”, in Toronto Star:

(law, Canada) A statement of fact and law delivered before a court.


CPR

Canadian Pacific Railway
w:Canadian Pacific Railway

(rail transport, Canada, US) Initialism of Canadian Pacific Railway.


CPA

en-noun

CPA (countable and uncountable, plural CPAs)

(Canada, accounting) Initialism of chartered professional accountant.


Vancouverite

Those frolicking in Vancouver's recreational areas shouldn't be surprised to end up in the middle of a rather messy sloshball game or ultimate Frisbee tournament; Vancouverites tend to leave their big-city attitudes at home.

1995, Pacific Northwest & Alaska: on the loose, Fodor's, page 325:

(Canada) A native or resident of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.


GTA

Greater Toronto Area
w:Greater Toronto Area

(Canada) Initialism of Greater Toronto Area, the most populous urban region in Southern Ontario, Canada.


BR

(chiefly Canada, US) Abbreviation of bedroom.


recap

en-verb

recap (third-person singular simple present recaps, present participle recapping, simple past and past participle recapped)

recaps (present singular third-person)
recapping (participle present)
recapped (participle past)
recapped (past)

They buy a lot of camelback because they recap a lot of truck tires for trailer fleets.

In 1942 almost 86,000,000 pounds of camelback—a 25-percent increase over 1941—were made available for recapping purposes, and the output of this product is continually increasing. Dealer establishments are as busy as beehives. They have about 90 percent of the recapping equipment. In the testimony before you yesterday one of the proponents of this bill admitted that independent dealers had 88 percent of all the recapping machinery there is in the United States. We estimate that it is probably about that figure, although we thought it was a little higher, probably 90 percent. In addition to recapping tires for the general public, they also are doing this work on Government-owned tires, including the military, with the result that the independent dealer has retreaded hundreds and hundreds of thousands of tires, at a substantial profit, during said period.

1943 November 10, Lyle M. Buckingham, “Distribution of motor-vehicle tires. [Testimony.]”, in Hearings Before the United States Senate Committee on Banking and Currency, United States Government Printing Office, page 51:

Are recapped tires safe? This is obviously the thing to know before you consider buying recaps.

1957 Aug, “Recap your old tires?”, in Kiplinger's Personal Finance, volume 11, number 8, page 13:

(Canada, US) To replace the worn tread on a tire by gluing on a new outer portion.


sportscaster

At the beginning of the all-star game, the sportscaster always says that the players just want to have fun today; at halftime, or in the bottom of the fifth inning, the sportscaster always says that the players' competitive spirit has taken over and now they all really want to win.

2003, David Shields, Remote: Reflections on Life in the Shadow of Celebrity, Univ of Wisconsin Press, →ISBN, page 49:

(chiefly Canada, US) One who reports sporting events on television or radio.


reconciliation

en-noun

reconciliation (countable and uncountable, plural reconciliations)

From Middle English reconciliacioun (“act of reconciling; state of accord or harmony;”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman reconciliaciun, reconsiliacion, reconsiliaciun, and Middle French reconciliation, reconsiliacion, reconsiliation (“act of reconciling; result of this act; act of bringing about agreement or harmony; reconsecration of a desecrated place”) (modern French réconciliation), and from their Latin etymon reconciliātiō (“reinstatement, renewal, restoration; reconciliation”), from reconciliāre + -tiō.

nb...

reconcyliacyoun, reconsiliation, reconsiliacion, reconsiliacioun, reconsyliacion, reconsylyacion,

In order to redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission makes the following calls to action.

(Australia, Canada) The process of systemically atoning for the crimes and broken promises that a nation has historically committed against indigenous people.


USW

United Steelworkers
w:United Steelworkers

(Canada, US, trade unionism) Initialism of United Steelworkers.


MPP

en-noun

MPP (countable and uncountable, plural MPPs)

MPPs (plural)
M.P.P. (alternative)
M. P. P. (alternative)

Got my name in registry so they stay on me, won’t let me free / Might call up my MPP / Nevermind, they won’t listen to me, don’t listen to me

2021, “On Me”, in Parallel World, performed by Cadence Weapon:

Member of Provincial Parliament
w:en:Member of Provincial Parliament

(Canada, countable) Initialism of Member of Provincial Parliament.


puss

puss (countable and uncountable, plural pusses)

Probably from Middle Low German pūs, pūskatte or Dutch poes (“puss, cat”, slang for “vulva”), ultimately from a common Germanic word for cat, perhaps ultimately imitative of a sound made to get its attention (compare Arabic بسة (bissa)).
Akin to West Frisian poes, Low German Puus, Puuskatte, Danish pus, dialectal Swedish kattepus, Norwegian pus.
Found also in several other European, North African and Asian languages; compare Romanian pisică, Persian پیشی (piši), Tamil பூசை (pūcai), Tagalog pusa
and Sardinian pisittu.

onomatopoeic

imitative

(vulgar, slang, chiefly Canada, US) A coward; a wuss; someone who is unable to stand up for themselves.


personal video recorder

en-noun

personal video recorder (plural personal video recorders)

(television, Canada, UK, Ireland) A device that can record broadcast television programmes, or the images from a video camera, for subsequent playback through a television set


cosmopolitan

From cosmopolite + -an. Compare metropolitan and megalopolitan.

(Canada, US, dated) A butterfly of species Vanessa cardui.


regent

/ˈɹiːd͡ʒənt/

From Middle English regent, from Anglo-Norman regent, Middle French regent, and their source, Latin regēns (“ruling; ruler, governor, prince”), present participle of regō (“I govern, I steer”).

der

(Scotland, Canada, US) A member of governing board of a college or university; also a governor of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.


dink

Origin unknown. Attested since the late nineteenth century.

unknown

Origin unknown

The hair on my legs is softer than the hair around my dink, but it still grosses me out.

2004, Brian Francis, Fruit: A Novel about a Boy and his Nipples, page 2:

(Canada, US, colloquial, slang) The penis.

[…]he was a dink, and all the money, fame, and power in the world wouldn't change that one simple fact.

1997, Chris Gudgeon, You’re Not as Good as You Think, page 13:

(Canada, US, colloquial, slang) A foolish or contemptible person.


utilization

en-noun

utilization (countable and uncountable, plural utilizations)

utilizations (plural)
utilisation (alternative)

From French utilisation or from utilize + -ation.

(Canada, US, Oxford British English) Alternative spelling of utilisation


inquire

en-verb

inquire (third-person singular simple present inquires, present participle inquiring, simple past and past participle inquired)

inquires (present singular third-person)
inquiring (participle present)
inquired (participle past)
inquired (past)
enquire (alternative)

From Latin inquīrō (“to seek for”), composed of in- (“in, at, on; into”) + quaerō (“I seek, look for”), of uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Italic *kʷaizeō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- (“to acquire”). Displaced Middle English enqueren (from Old French enquerre, of the same source) and native Middle English speir (“ask, inquire”).

der

"A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner. "We'll see him on in Washington some day.[…]A strong man—a strong one; and a heedless." ¶ "Of what party is he?" she inquired, as though casually.

1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

(intransitive, US, Canada, Australia) To ask (about something).


EDA

en-noun

EDA (countable and uncountable, plural EDAs)

electoral district association
riding association#English

(Canada) Initialism of electoral district association.


apple cider

apple cider (countable and uncountable, plural apple ciders)

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

(UK, Canada) Cider; fermented apple juice; hard cider.

(Canada, US) Cider; sweet cider (non-alcoholic beverage).


gina

(US, Canada, slang, derogatory) The female equivalent of a gino.


takeout

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

(Canada, US) (Of food) intended to be eaten off the premises from which it was bought.

за вкъщи

(of food) intended to be eaten off the premises from which it was bought


takeout

takeout (countable and uncountable, plural takeouts)

takeouts (plural)
take-out (alternative)

desc

Japanese: テイクアウト (teikuauto), テークアウト (tēkuauto)

(Canada, US, Philippines) Food purchased from a takeaway.


thumbtack

Coordinate term: pushpin

You say that I'm broke my nigga, how is that?
Bitch I'm stickin to this paper like a thumbtack

2016 June 10, BlocBoy JB (lyrics and music), “No Chorus, Pt. 5”, in Who Am I, 1:20–1:27:

(Canada, US) A small nail-like tack with a slightly rounded head that can be pressed into place with light pressure from the thumb; used for hanging light articles on a wall or noticeboard.


bitumen

en-noun

bitumen (countable and uncountable, plural bitumina or bitumens)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Mélange a trois-bitumen.wav

From Middle English bithumen, bitumen, from Latin bitūmen. Doublet of bitume.

(Canada) Canadian deposits of extremely heavy crude oil.


DPA

Defence Production Act
w:en:Defence Production Act (Canada)

(Canada) Initialism of Defence Production Act.


PW

PW (countable and uncountable, plural PWs)

(Canada, military, countable) Initialism of prisoner of war.


bum's rush

First use appears c. 1911. See cite below.

"I didnt' think you fellows'd put the bum's rush onto me," he complained, "I ain't no bum."

1911 March, Wm. Hamilton Osborne, “Blowing the Crowd”, in Ambition: A Journal of Inspiration to Self Help, volume 9, number 8:

It seems that the board appointed to look into alleged shortcomings of leftish Council leaders didn't like the "observers" who were brought along and decided to give them the bum's rush.

1948, Daily Labor Report - Issues 181-210, page 326:

But suddenly he has a lucid interval . . . senses exactly what is going on. And he gives me this furious look. Astonishes me by saying, with all the old force, in his old, frightening growl: “This is a bum's rush!”

2013, Chris Crowley, Jennifer Sacheck, Thinner This Year: A Younger Next Year Book:

Early last September, some fellow beekeepers reported that the females in their bee colonies had already given the bum's rush to the males, the drones, kicking them out in the cold.

2013, Jack Mingo, Bees Make the Best Pets, page 81:

(chiefly Canada, US, slang, idiomatic) The forcible ejection of someone, such as a bum or a hobo, from an establishment.

Baumes law on Wikipedia.: although this has been suggested as the origin of the phrase

bum's rush was in use more than a decade before the law was passed


Caesar

Caesar (plural Caesars or (title) Caesares)

Caesars (plural)
Caesares (plural)
caesar (alternative)
Cæsar (alternative)
Cesar (alternative)

From Latin Caesar. Displaced Old English cāsere, which would have yielded *caser, *coser, and Middle English keiser, kaiser, from Old Norse and continental Germanic languages. All ultimately from the same Latin root. (See also Kaiser and tsar.)


saddle

→ Japanese: サドル (sadoru)

Homer Tunnel
Milford Sound
Oxford English Dictionary

From Middle English sadel, from Old English sadol, from Proto-West Germanic *sadul, from Proto-Germanic *sadulaz (“saddle”). Further etymology uncertain, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *sod-dʰlo-, from *sed- (“to sit”) + *-dʰlom (a variant of *-trom (suffix forming nouns denoting instruments or tools)), though the Oxford English Dictionary says this “presents formal difficulties”.
Cognates
* Danish sadel
* Dutch zadel
* German Sattel
* Icelandic söðull
* Low German Sadel
* Russian седло́ (sedló)
* Saterland Frisian Soadel
* Scots sadil
* Swedish sadel
* West Frisian seal

saal

seat for a rider placed on the back of a horse or other animal

satula

something resembling a saddle in appearance or shape

satula

depression located along the axial trend of an anticline

Something resembling a saddle (sense 1) in appearance or shape.

A piece of leather stitched across the instep of a shoe, usually having a different colour from the rest of the shoe.

satula

'Now then … What'll it be, boys?' Mr Berman asked. / My mother answered. 'Brown-and-white saddles for Fudge and loafers for Peter.'

1972, Judy Blume, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, New York, N.Y.: Dutton Children’s Books, →ISBN, page 56:

Synonym of saddle oxford or saddle shoe (“a shoe, resembling an oxford, which has a saddle (sense 11.1)”)


saddle

en-verb

saddle (third-person singular simple present saddles, present participle saddling, simple past and past participle saddled)

saddles (present singular third-person)
saddling (participle present)
saddled (participle past)
saddled (past)
saddle (infinitive)

From Middle English sadelen (“to put a saddle on (an animal), to saddle”) [and other forms], from Old English sadolian, sadelian, sadilian (“to saddle”), from Proto-Germanic *sadulōną (“to saddle”), from *sadulaz (“a saddle”, noun) (see further at etymology 1) + *-ōną (suffix forming denominative verbs from nouns).
Cognates
* Middle Dutch sādelen (modern Dutch zadelen)
* Middle Low German sādelen
* Old Danish sathlæ (modern Danish sadle)
* Old High German satalōn, satulōn (Middle High German satelen, sateln, German satteln)
* Old Norse sǫðla
* Old Swedish saþla (modern Swedish sadla)

nb...

(Late Middle English) saddull, sadylle, (Middle English) saddil, saddull, saddyll, sadel, sadele, sadil, sadille, sadillen, sadle, sadlen, sadul, sadulle, sadyl, sadyll, (Early Middle English) sadeli (West Midlands), sadelie (West Midlands), sadelien

nshiuedz

(transitive) to put a saddle on (an animal)

kiinnittää

to put (something) on to another thing like a saddle on an animal

satuloida

(intransitive) to put a saddle on an animal

Next day, while we were saddling, Ali and Abd el Kader appeared.

1922 (date written; published 1926), T[homas] E[dward] Lawrence, “Book VI: The Raid upon the Bridges. Chapter LXXI.”, in Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Doran & Company, published 1937, →OCLC, page 394:

(intransitive, chiefly Canada, US) Often followed by up.

Often followed by up.
To put a saddle on an animal.

Till the dead midnight we saddled not,— / I have journeyed far and fast— / And hither I come to carry thee back / Ere the darkness shall be past.

c. 1844 June (date written), Gottfried August Bürger, translated by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Lenore […], London: Ellis and Elvey, […], published 1900, →OCLC, page 26:

[A]y, every churl who owns a manor, if he dares—must needs arm and saddle, and levy war on his own behalf, and harry and slay the King's lieges, if he have not garlic to his roast goose every time he chooses […]

1866, C[harles] Kingsley, “How Hereward was Outlawed, and Went North to Seek His Fortunes”, in Hereward the Wake, “Last of the English.” […], volume I, London, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 61:

Often followed by up.
Of a person: to get into a saddle.


mizzle

en-verb

mizzle (third-person singular simple present mizzles, present participle mizzling, simple past and past participle mizzled)

mizzles (present singular third-person)
mizzling (participle present)
mizzled (participle past)
mizzled (past)

From Late Middle English misellen (“to drizzle”), cognate with Low German miseln, musseln (“to mizzle”), Dutch miezelen (“to drizzle, rain gently”). Of obscure origin, possibly a frequentative related to the base of mist; or, related to Middle Low German mes (“urine”), Middle Dutch mes, mis (“urine”), both from Old Saxon mehs (“urine”), from Proto-Germanic *mihstuz, *mihstaz, *mihsk- (“urine”), from *mīganą (“to urinate”), from Proto-Indo-European *meiǵʰ-, *omeiǵʰ- (“to urinate”). Compare also English micturate (“to urinate”), Old Frisian mese (“urine”), Low German miegen (“to urinate”), Dutch mijgen (“to urinate”), Danish mige (“to urinate”).

cog

(intransitive, British, Canada, US, chiefly dialectal) To rain in very fine drops.


bindle

Probably a corruption of bundle; perhaps influenced by the preceding word bindle meaning "length of cord used to bind something".

[L]astly he made a bindle in a plastic tarp of some cans of juice and cans of fruit and cans of vegetables […]

2006, Cormac McCarthy, The Road, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, →ISBN:

(US and Canada slang) A bundle carried by a hobo (usually containing his possessions), often on a stick slung over the shoulder; a blanket roll.

(Canada, US, slang) Any bundle or package; specifically one containing narcotics such as cocaine, heroin, or morphine.


grifter

From grift + -er; or probably an alteration of grafter (“a corrupt person, one who accepts bribes”), which is essentially a doublet of the same word. Originally circus slang, gradually widened in sense. First attested in 1906.

We're all grifters. So we sell each other out for a nickel.

That was the train the drunks and the sinners rode—the gambling men and the grifters, the big-time spenders, the skirt-chasers, and all the jolly crew.

1958, Robert Bloch, That Hell-Bound Train:

From the small-time grifters like Anna Sorokin, who adopted the last name Delvey to masquerade in downtown New York circles as a European heiress for four years before she was convicted of second-degree grand larceny in 2019, […] all impostors come equipped with a tall tale and a look to match.

2020 November 12, Megan O’Grady, “How ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ Foretold Our Era of Grifting”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(informal, originally Canada, US) A con artist; someone who pulls confidence games; a swindler, scammer, huckster, hustler, and/or charlatan.


gumshoe

"Who's this gumshoe guy from the bush league tailin' us?"

1920, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 20, in The Big-Town Round-Up:


vitreous humour

en-noun

vitreous humour (plural vitreous humours)

vitreous humours (plural)
vitreous humor (alternative)

(ophthalmology, British, Canada) The clear gel that fills the eyeball between the lens and the retina.


particle board

particle board (countable and uncountable, plural particle boards)

particle boards (plural)
particle-board (alternative)

(US, Canada, Australia) a structural material manufactured from wood particles (such as chips and shavings) by pressing, and binding through resin


backhoe

Meronym: front-end loader

The backhoe is only one type of heavy equipment for rent.[…]I heard about a couple of tool-rental outfits near Chicago that were doing a brisk business renting backhoes and other heavy equipment to homeowners

1967 June, Charles E. Rhine, “How to Rent a Backhoe”, in Popular Science, page 149:

I'll recommend a good way to calculate backhoe production rates. Then we'll look at the two backhoes you'll be using, the wheeled backhoe and the tracked backhoe.

1987, Dave Roberts, Pipe and Excavation Contracting, page 173:

2010, Robert Day, Foundation Engineering Handbook, 2nd edition, page 2.49,
Backhoe pits and trenches are an economical means of performing subsurface exploration. The backhoe can quickly excavate the trench that can then be used to observe and test the in situ soil (see Fig. 2.29).

en:tractor with digger and loader components

(chiefly US, Canada, Australia) A multi-purpose tractor with a front-mounted loading bucket and a rear-mounted digging bucket. The tractor combines a front-end loader/loader (component) and an excavator/digger (component).


asswipe

asswipe (countable and uncountable, plural asswipes)

Bahuvrihi compound of ass + wipe. First use appears c. 1947 in the writings of Mari Sandoz.

He is such an asswipe!

...they have been exchanging insults in writing: "dickhead," "dillweed," "fuzzbutt," "dorkwad," "asswipe," and so forth.

1996, Timothy Jay, What to Do When Your Students Talk Dirty, page 207:

(Canada, US, informal, mildly vulgar, offensive or derogatory) An annoying, contemptible, or worthless person.

I rapidly expended my own and everyone else’s supply of tiny C-ration rolls of asswipe and was reduced to wiping my nasty behind with leaves and grass.

1976, Micheal Clodfelter, The Pawns of Dishonor, Branden Press, →ISBN, page 249:

“[…] Into your packs you put your toilet articles, mess kits, extra socks, and skivvies and longjohns if you have them. If you have a roll of asswipe, put that in, too. […]”

1983, Nicholas Proffitt, Gardens of Stone, Carroll & Graf, →ISBN, page 317:

I doubt a dime would buy a single square of asswipe in this city, […]

2008, Joseph Heywood, Death Roe: A Woods Cop Mystery, Globe Pequot, page 252

(Canada, US, informal, mildly vulgar, uncountable) Toilet paper.

paskapaperi

Something used to wipe one's anus after defecation


coroner

From Middle English coroner, from Old French curuner, from Medieval Latin custōs placitōrum corōnae (“guardian of the crown's pleas”). The function was originally to protect royal properties.

der

(Canada, US, medicine) A medical doctor who performs autopsies and determines time and cause of death from a scientific standpoint.


bagman

2016, David Akin, "Tory 'bagman' boasts about party's bank account, Toronto Sun, 28 May,
Proud to call himself the "bagman" of the Conservative Party, former senator Irving Gerstein boasted about the financial health of his party Friday.

(Canada, politics, informal) A prominent fundraiser for a political party or similar cause


kindergarten

en-noun

kindergarten (plural kindergartens or (obsolete) kindergärten)

kindergartens (plural)
kindergärten (obsolete plural)
kindergarden (alternative)

/ˈkɪndəɹˌɡɑːɹt(ə)n/

/ˈkɪndəɹˌɡɑːɹd(ə)n/

[ˈkʰɪn(d)əɹˌɡɑːɹt̬(ə)n]

[ˈkʰɪɾ̃əɹˌɡɑːɹʔn̩]

Unadapted borrowing from German Kindergarten (“kindergarten”, literally “garden of children”), coined by German pedagogue Friedrich Fröbel (early 19th century).

ubor

(Canada, US, Australia) An educational institution for young children, usually between ages 4 and 6; nursery school.

esikoulu

year of education before compulsory education

Kindergarten

but the latter is not seen as a school, rather as a form of day care

(Canada, US, Australia) The elementary school grade before first grade.

børnehaveklasse

the elementary school grade before first grade


nickel and dime

en-noun

nickel and dime (plural nickel and dimes)

After retail stores where “everything costs a nickel or a dime”

(US and Canada) A retail store selling inexpensive items, especially one in which all items have a price near a nickel (US five cents) or a dime (US ten cents)


fuck the dog

en-verb

fuck the dog (third-person singular simple present fucks the dog, present participle fucking the dog, simple past and past participle fucked the dog)

fucks the dog (present singular third-person)
fucking the dog (participle present)
fucked the dog (participle past)
fucked the dog (past)

1935, US; originally in sense “loaf, fritter” (compare fuck around).

"Yeah." It was him, alright; if the world's weariest pair of workboots hadn't tipped her off, his world-weary voice certainly would have. "Where were you?"
"My quarters. We've got a full ticket set today, and techs work best without oversight." Neither of these things was untrue, though the curation was more than a little dishonest.
"Maybe yours do." Nascimbeni rolled out, back flat against a neon orange creeper, and sat up with an audible wince. "Mine fuck the dog."

2022 September 19, HarryBlank, “Beyond Repair”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 2024-09-15:

(vulgar, uncommon, especially Canada) To avoid work; to make it appear as if one is working.


wheelhouse

wheelhouses (plural)
wheel house (alternative)
wheel-house (alternative)

From wheel + house. Sense 3 (“(baseball) a pitch location which is favourable to the hitter”) references the fact that a vessel is controlled from its wheelhouse (sense 1.2), and sense 4 (“a person’s area of authority or expertise”) is a figurative use of sense 3.

The pitch was right in his wheelhouse, and he hit a grand slam.

The ball was up in my wheelhouse, and I got round on it, got the meat of that Ritchie Ashburn bottle bat solidly on the ball. I'll never in my life hit a ball any better.

1997, Bryan L. Jones, “Baseball”, in Mark Twain Made Me Do It & Other Plains Adventures, Lincoln, Neb., London: University of Nebraska Press, →ISBN, page 74:

The next pitch was close to my wheelhouse so I just let 'er rip. I got ahold of it and shot it to left field on the line.

2007, Alan Schwarz, “Ken Griffey Jr.: On Going Deep with His Father”, in Once upon a Game: Baseball’s Greatest Memories, Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company, →ISBN, page 60, column 1:

Here is the ball, in my wheelhouse. I slide my hips out of the way, put myself in place to hit the coldie of a lifetime.

2009, Andre Agassi, Open: An Autobiography (A Borzoi Book), New York, N.Y.: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, →ISBN, page 215:

(Canada, US, baseball, by extension from sense 1.2) A pitch location which is favourable to the hitter.

Horse viruses are in Pat’s wheelhouse.

Turning out terrific subordinates was not in her wheelhouse. [...] But she did so, mostly by force of will and with a number of false starts and midcourse corrections, and went on to become an icon in her industry.

2009, Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow, Marty Linsky, “Broaden Your Bandwith: Discover Your Tolerances”, in The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World, Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business Press, →ISBN, part 4 (See Yourself as a System), page 207:

I watched as Vic digested the information. His career was built on analyzing intel and making tactical decisions, and this was right in his wheelhouse.

2013, Mark L. Donald, with Scott Mactavish, “Battle of Khand Pass”, in Battle Ready: Memoir of a SEAL Warrior Medic, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, page 162:

If an app is entertaining, and especially if it contains age-appropriate humor, that increases its appeal. You just need to keep the learning in a Digitod's [i.e., a digital toddler's] wheelhouse (for you non-baseball fans, that's his prime area of ability).

2013 April 4, Patti Wollman Summers, Ann DeSollar-Hale, Heather Ibrahim-Leathers, “Anatomy of an App”, in Toddlers on Technology: A Parents’ Guide, Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 23:

Similarly, it has been beyond the scope of health care providers or other Intermediaries to address well-being. These concerns and measures are simply not in their wheelhouses and not high on their priority lists.

2015, Dwight McNeill, “Knowing Me”, in Amy Neidlinger, editor, Using Person-centered Health Analytics to Live Longer: Leveraging Engagement, Behavior Change, and Technology for a Healthy Life, Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education, →ISBN, part II (Building the Toolkit for Person-centered Health Analytics), page 172:

What the film rarely does is challenge or interrogate the fan culture to which it plays uncritical tribute. Wade and his friends, including a trigger-happy cyborgian alpha nerd whose offline identity the film handles more tastefully than the book did, are possessive gatekeepers, viciously protective of their pop-culture wheelhouse.

2018 March 26, A. A. Dowd, “Steven Spielberg Finds Fun, and maybe even a Soul, in the Pandering Pastiche of Ready Player One”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2018-05-31:

“Here,” she said, “if we’re thinking about E.P.A. regulating greenhouse gases, well, there’s a match between the regulation and the agency’s wheelhouse, right?”

2022 February 28, Adam Liptak, quoting Amy Coney Barrett, “Supreme Court Considers Limiting E.P.A.’s Ability to Address Climate Change”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(Canada, US, figuratively) A person's area of authority or expertise.

Ever since I started taking antipsychotics, managing my mental health has been a whole different wheelhouse.

(Canada, US, figuratively) A set of skills necessitated by a situation.


Queens

(Canada, slang) Misspelling of Queen's, referring to Queen's University, Kingston


batty rider

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

(Jamaica, US, Canada, British) extremely short shorts worn by women, so as to expose part of the buttocks


Thanksgiving

/θæŋksˈɡɪvɪŋ/

/ˈθæŋksɡɪvɪŋ/

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

A proprialization from the common noun thanksgiving; by surface analysis, thanks + giving.

It is at present impossible to determine when the General Court will adjourn, none of the great business having as yet been attended to, so as to be completed, but there seems to be a general determination to be at home at Thanksgiving. I hope it will be possible.

1788, Theodore Sedgwick to his wife, 9 November, in The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections 1788–1790, vol. 1, ed. Merrill Jensen and Robert A. Becker, University of Wisconsin Press, 1976, pages 513–514

Across the harsh, salty smells that blew in gusts from the half-uncovered mud-flats of the river, my memory of old Thanksgivings at home called up most rich and tender savors of roast goose till an appetite of huge anticipation began to riot beneath my waistcoat.

1898 November 19, Charles G[eorge] D[ouglas] Roberts, “The Bewitchment of Lieutenant Hanworthy”, in The Saturday Evening Post, volume 171, number 21, Philadelphia, Pa.: The Curtis Publishing Company, page 321, column 1:

This is church! They spent their Thanksgivings and Christmases with us to bring some normalcy to our lives. They bore the cold winter nights sleeping in tents, showering and bathing whenever and wherever possible. They rolled up their sleeves, gutted houses, cleaned yards, and poured out their hearts; they had compassion on us. By joining forces with the National Guard and city officials, the church and government walked hand and hand with common goals—rebuilding lives and revitalizing our cities.

2010, Sebastian Myladiyil, Blown Together: The Trials and Miracles of Katrina, Mobile, Ala.: Evergreen Press, →ISBN, page 200:

Our Thanksgivings are always nice and quiet. Dad cleans, Mom cooks, and I set the table. We sit down, talk about how grateful we are for good health and family, and eat.

2012, T. R. Burns [pseudonym; Tricia Rayburn], The Bad Apple (Merits of Mischief; 1), New York, N.Y.: Aladdin, →ISBN, page 209:

(Canada, US) Thanksgiving Day, celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada, and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States.

(Canada, US) The long weekend which includes Thanksgiving Day; Thanksgiving weekend.


Thanksgiving Day

en-noun

Thanksgiving Day (plural Thanksgiving Days)

Advent Sunday

Christian religious day at the end of November

(Canada) A holiday, originally to give thanks to God for the harvest, celebrated annually on the second Monday of October.


dinger

"He had a red wool sock on his dinger. That's all."

1994, Max Evans, Bluefeather Fellini in the Sacred Realm, University Press of Colorado, published 1994, →ISBN, page 131:


dep

dep (countable and uncountable, plural deps)

deps (plural)
dep. (alternative)
dép (alternative)
dép. (alternative)

*Abbreviation of several English terms that begin with "dep"
*Clipping of several English terms that begin with "dep"


shinny

shinny (canonical)
shinny hockey (canonical)

In shinny, everyone wins. Though rules are scaled back, the game is not loosened beyond all form, and the driving competitive element remains.

2010, Jason Blake, Canadian Hockey Literature: A Thematic Study, University of Toronto Press (cloth-bound) (paperback), chapter two: “The Hockey Dream: Hockey as Escape, Freedom, Utopia”, page 63

Hockey fiction shows that the focus on ludus in organized hockey threatens to strangle the primal play spirit, which is why shinny is more easily romanticized than versions of the game that seem to require fighting, that motivate parents to violence, and, at the highest level, give rise to lockouts and strikes. In shinny the playful core of hockey is retained, while the overly confining rules and restrictions are discarded.

(Canada) An informal game of pickup hockey played with minimal equipment: skates, sticks and a puck or ball.


amicus curiae

amici curiae (plural)
amica curiae (alternative)

From Latin, amīcus (“friend”) + cūriae (“of the court”), genitive singular of cūria (“court”).

(law, Canada) An independent lawyer, not retained by any party, whom the court has ordered to provide legal submissions regarding the matter in dispute; for example, to provide submissions regarding the situation of an unrepresented litigant or accused person.


slaw

en-noun

slaw (countable and uncountable, plural slaws)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-slaw.wav

Borrowed (around 1861) from Dutch sla, shortened from salade (“salad, lettuce”).

Barbecue is always served with slaw in North Carolina and always has been.

1996, Jerry Bledsoe, “Slaw Crazy”, in Lee Harrison Child, editor, Close to Home: Revelations and Reminiscences by North Carolina Authors, page 66:

My boss, whose daughter was a working chef, told me that I made the best slaws that she had ever tasted. The secret is that slaws deserve as much care in their preparation as any other good meal.

2002, Alex Haas, Everyday Low Carb Cooking, page 73:

Slaws go well with grilled lean protein items and sandwiches.

2010, Judy Doherty, Salad Secrets: 100 of the Most Creative, Healthful Recipes, page 103:


zinger

They'd have to come up with a zinger for their Christmas windows to compete with that competitor's laughing Santa Claus and Stefan had that zinger in his proposal submitted to the President of the company.

2006, Olivia Hillis Wimbrow, My Beloved Bohemian, →ISBN, page 130:

Think about all the scientists—and all the microscopes and lab equipment and testing—that may come up with zero instead of a zinger.

2006, Cathy Pickens, Done Gone Wrong, →ISBN:

(informal) An outstanding, energetic and surprising thing or person.


neighbourly

en-adj

neighbourly (comparative more neighbourly, superlative most neighbourly)

more neighbourly (comparative)
most neighbourly (superlative)
neighborly (alternative)

She's so neighbourly that she always holds a welcoming party for new residents.

I got the impression you were looking for something, and it crossed my mind to ask you what that might be. Just being friendly, sir, just being neighbourly.

2001, Salman Rushdie, Fury: A Novel, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN, pages 4–5:

(British, Canada) Showing the qualities of a friendly and helpful neighbour.


crocked

crocked (comparative more crocked, superlative most crocked)

more crocked (comparative)
most crocked (superlative)

(informal, Canada, US) drunk (of a person)


pantyhose

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

pantie hose (alternative)
pantie-hose (alternative)
pantihose (alternative)
panty hose (alternative)
panty-hose (alternative)

(Canada, US) Thin nylon tights worn over the legs, usually tan in color.


geezer

From guiser. Compare also German Low German Kieser (“an obstinate person; brute; savage”).

cog

In the right-hand division lay the two old geezers, as Sandy styled the landlord and his wife.

The technical term for a female geezer is "old broad," but this is irrelevant, as nobody in Hollywood makes films about women over 55.

2000 August 25, Moira McDonald, “Outtakes”, in Seattle Times, retrieved 2008-09-06:

Why Geezer? Why would a fine arts gallery choose a name that conjures images of a grumpy old guy sitting on the front porch hollering, “get off my lawn”?

2014, The Geezer Gallery, (Please provide the book title or journal name), retrieved 2014-01-31:

(informal, chiefly Canada, US, sometimes mildly derogatory) An old person, usually a male, typically a cranky old man.

striček

used by children to address unfamiliar male adults


ROC

Translingual: ROC

[T]he old and tired purveyors of separatism in Québec continue to harp on what they contend Québec is not—essentially, “not the ROC”—in order to peddle their snake oil.

2002, L. Yves Fortier, “A Mature Exercise of Sovereignty”, in Osgoode Hall Law Journal, volume 40, numbers 3-4, page 426:

If Quebeckers believe that voting PQ means putting a knife to Canada’s throat, they should think again. The ROC is fed up with these threats.

2014 March 7, Jeffrey Simpson, “The rest of Canada will have choices to make”, in Globe and Mail, Canada, retrieved 2014-04-07:

(Canada, politics) The "Rest of Canada", i.e. Canada excluding the province of Quebec.


Canuck

Canucks (plural)
canuck (alternative)
Canack (alternative)
Cannack (alternative)
Canuc (alternative)
canuc (alternative)
Canuk (alternative)
Conuck (alternative)
Cunnuck (alternative)
Kanuck (alternative)
Kanuk (alternative)
K'nuck (alternative)

American Dialect Society
Greenwood Publishing Group
John Benjamins Publishing Company
Leiden University
University of Alabama Press

Origin uncertain, often hypothesized to derive from the name or speech of an early Canadian minority, later broadened to denote all Canadians:
* Since 1975, many scholars have come to think the name is from Hawaiian kanaka (“man”), a self-appellation of indentured colonial canoemen and Hawaiian sailors working off the Pacific Northwest, Arctic, and New England coasts, from French canaque (“indigenous Melanesian inhabitant of New Caledonia, Kanak”); or, more likely, American whalers’ pidgin, then re-interpreted as Can(adian) + a suffix. (More below on that [specific] putative suffix.) Compare English Kanak and German Kanake.
* Some dictionaries suggest it is derived from the first syllable of Canada, or its etymon Laurentian kanata (“village”), or a related word kanuchsa meaning “villager” in either Laurentian or another Iroquoian language; with the second syllable connected to Inuktitut inuk (“man; person”), from Chinook (“Aboriginal people of the U.S. Pacific Northwest”), or another First-Nation language ending like -oc, -uc, or -uq.
* Fanciful and unlikely suggestions include German genug von Canada (literally “enough of Canada”) (allegedly uttered by German mercenaries during the American War of Independence), French quelle canule (“what a bore”) (allegedly uttered by the French during a siege of Quebec), or the surname Connaught /ˈkɑ.nəxt/ (supposedly a French-Canadian nickname for the Irish).

noncog

French Canadian
French Canadian#Adjective

(Canada, US, informal, sometimes derogatory) A Canadian person; specifically (archaic), a French Canadian person; a pea-souper; also (obsolete) a Canadian person of other non-English descent.

(ice hockey) A member of the Vancouver Canucks professional ice hockey team belonging to the National Hockey League.

Canucksin pelaaja

(skiing) Chiefly as Crazy Canuck: a member of the Canadian alpine ski team.

Canadians are somewhat jealous of the Americans; that they are secretly manœuvering, not exactly with the inoffensive good humor of a much respected yeoman of England, […] but rather after the inordinate example of Ahab of old, so pithily recorded by the sacred historian. Jonathan distinguishes a Dutch or French Canadian, by the term Kanuk.

[1835, [Henry Cook Todd], Notes upon Canada and the United States of America: In the Year MDCCCXXXV […], Toronto, Ont.: […] W[illiam] J[oseph] Coates, […], →OCLC, paragraph 263, page 92:

We saw a few partridges: we also met a lusty fellow in a forest road with a keg of whisky slung round him, who called to us 'Come boys and have some grog, I'm what you call a canuck:' a (Canadian).

1849, James E[dward] Alexander, chapter XV, in L’Acadie; or, Seven Years’ Explorations in British America. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 272–273:

It is a pity these Canadian militiamen spoilt the good work they had done by never-failing bluster. But for pure and unadulterated brag I will back the lower-class Canuck against the world. The Yankee is a very sucking dove compared to his northern neighbour.

1889, John G[eorge] Donkin, chapter XIII, in Trooper and Redskin in the Far North-West: Recollections of Life in the North-West Mounted Police, Canada, 1884–1888, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington […], →OCLC, page 148:

[T]he Canucks were ready with bats, hands, feet and heads, to outplay the locals at all points. They did it to a nicety. It is wonderful to contemplate the quality of ball speiled by the Canucks when their lungs are filled with Rochester air.

1895 August 26, “Sports of field and track: Toronto 14, Rochester 11—first game”, in Democrat and Chronicle, volume 63, number 238, Rochester, N.Y.: Rochester Printing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 11, column 1:

He's got a Canuck a-workin' for him, and I'd livser trust a wolf 'n one o' them pea-soupers.

1898, Rowland E[vans] Robinson, “Forebodings of Storm”, in A Hero of Ticonderoga, Burlington, Vt.: Hobart J[oseph] Shanley & Co., →OCLC, page 140:

The new-comers were a couple of farmers from Minnesota, genuine Americans from birth; wise men, with a keg of good water in their waggon. "And don't you want to be Americans any longer?" I asked. "No," said they most emphatically, "we're Canucks now."

1907 May, Howard Angus Kennedy, “The Dry Patch”, in New Canada and the New Canadians, 2nd edition, London: Horace Marshall & Son, published October 1907, →OCLC, page 192:

One person who realizes that the Canadian troops in England have healthy appetites is Corp. J. R. Johnstone, chief butcher of a unit. He and his 16 assistants drag from huge refrigerators eight tons of meat per day for the hungry Canucks; and every other day when rationing is less severe the butchers carve up 16 tons of lamb, beef and pork.

1940 August 9, “Troops pack it away”, in Toronto Daily Star, Toronto, Ont.: The Toronto Star Limited, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 18, column 7:

The Scottish skip [Alex F. Torrance] missed a wide open takeout in the fifth leaving the Canucks another single.

1964 March 19, Larry Wood, “Dagg stays unbeaten: Scotch Cup winner decided tonight”, in Richard L[ouis] Sanburn, editor, The Calgary Herald, Calgary, Alta.: The Southam Company, →ISSN, page 18, column 5:

[Jack] Kerouac's writings reveal that, although celebrated as an iconic American, he thought of himself as first and foremost Canadian. In La Vie est d'Hommage, he writes, "I am French Canadian. When I am angry, I often swear in French; when I dream, I often dream in French." He went on to say that "all my knowledge comes from my being French Canadian.” But as a Canuck in the United States, he felt patronized. He needed to hide his true self. Even with his friends in New York, with Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs, he was "a completely different man. We have to live in English, it's impossible to live in French. This is the secret thought of the Canuck in America."

2016 June 12, Richard Stursberg, “The Secret Canadian Life of Jack Kerouac: Reading Kerouac’s Lost French Writings Reveals the Travails of a Canuck in America”, in Maclean’s, Toronto, Ont.: Maclean-Hunter Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-06-04:


toboggan

toboggans (plural)
tobogin (alternative)
toboggin (alternative)

/təˈbɑːɡ.ən/

The noun is attested since 1829, the verb since 1846. Both derive from French tabaganne, which derives from an Algonquian word, probably Mi'kmaq tepaqan or Abenaki dabôgan, influenced by similar words in other Eastern Canadian Algonquian languages. The sense of "hat" is recorded since 1929 and is short for toboggan cap (1928), a cap suitable for wearing while tobogganing.

The old toboggan has been laid aside, and sleighs or waggons dash along the streets.

1847, Abraham Gesner, New Brunswick; with Notes for Emigrants: Comprehending the Early History, an Account of the Indians, Settlement, Topography, Statistics, Commerce, Timber, Manufactures, Agriculture, Fisheries, Geology, Natural History, Social and Political State, Immigrants, and Contemplated Railways of that Province:

These animals are harnessed by a padded collar to a light flat sleigh, of skins stretched across a frame of thin wood, called a toboggan.

1889, John G. Donkin, Trooper and Redskin in the Far North-west: Recollections of Life in the North-west Mounted Police:

The steer dog next to the sleigh prevents this by immediately leading off at a sixty-degree angle from the direction the others are going, thereby compensating for the sidewise stress and keeping the toboggan in the clear until the bend has been passed.

(Canada, US) A similar sled of wood, pulled by dogs, possibly with steel runners, made to transport cargo.


Rt. Hon.

Right Honourable
Right Honourable#English

Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament#English

(Canada, politics) Abbreviation of Right Honourable. (in the titles of MPs, Members of Parliament)


parking lot

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

Should we park in that parking lot, or in the garage up the street?

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

1970, Joni Mitchell (lyrics and music), “Big Yellow Taxi”:

(Canada, US, Philippines, Malaysia) An open area, generally paved, where automobiles may be left when not in use.


muffin

→ Chinese: 瑪芬 /玛芬 (mǎfēn)

→ Danish: muffin

→ Esperanto: mafino

→ Finnish: muffini, muffinssi, muffinsi

→ French: muffin

→ German: Muffin

→ Japanese: マフィン (mafin)

→ Korean: 머핀 (meopin)

→ Norwegian Bokmål: muffins

→ Polish: muffin

→ Portuguese: muffin

→ Russian: ма́ффин (máffin)

→ Swedish: muffins

→ Yiddish: מאָפֿין (mofin)

From earlier moofin, probably a diminutive of Low German Muffe ("small cake"; Muffen (plural)), from Middle Low German muffe (“small pastry”). An alternative, and phonologically less plausible theory suggests a connection to Old French (pain) moflet (“roll”, literally “soft (bread)”).

gl

"small cake"; <i class="Latn mention" lang="nds">Muffen</i> (plural)

ncog

I had a charming muffin yesterday. She is engaged to be married, so don't be alarmed.

1854, Margaret Oliphant W[ilson] Oliphant, quoting Laurence Oliphant, Memoir of the Life of Laurence Oliphant and of Alice Oliphant, His Wife, new edition, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, published 1892, page 92:

The fair Canadians may have been too kind in accepting the name and position of "muffins" from the young Britishry; but the latter cannot say they have suffered much in consequence. A muffin is simply a lady who sits beside the male occupant of the sleigh—Sola cum solo, "and all the rest is leather and prunella."

[1865, W[illiam] Howard Russell, Canada: Its Defenses, Condition, and Resources, London: Bradbury and Evans, page 149:

A long string of two-seated sleighs, a pleasant tête-à-tête drive for many miles snugly ensconced in the buffalo robes with your "muffin" by your side, a halt at some hospitable settler's, and an impromptu dance in his barn, wTith a return journey in the crisp moonlight air, left impressions that are still vivid. ¶ The "muffin" was a social institution of those days, which may or may not have survived. Every young swain by unwritten but acknowledged law was permitted to make his choice of a partner for the season, with whom he danced exclusively, and whom he drove in his sleigh and skated with hand in hand.

1904, Arthur Griffiths, Fifty Years of Public Service, London […]: Cassel and Company, Limited, pages 52–53:

(Canada, slang, archaic) A young woman who would regularly accompany a particular man during a social season.


/ˌwʌnəʊˈwʌn/

From 1 + 0 + 1, from the method of numbering courses in United States colleges, the initial or introductory course commonly being numbered “101”; for example, “Biology 101”.

Geology 101 tells us that you can’t build a reservoir on sandstone.

My dog flunked out of Crate Training 101.

I went to NYU myself, I was a philo-major there, too. I took all the abstract philosophy courses in college, like truth and beauty, advanced truth and beauty, intermediate truth, introduction to God, Death 101.

1964 March (date recorded), “Private Life”, in Woody Allen (CP 518), spoken by Woody Allen, New York, N.Y.: Colpix Records, published July 1964, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2025-01-17:

Since this is a series that emphasizes Social Relevance 101—a basic course on TV these days—the hood in that episode is just a good ghetto boy who has been led astray, and the cop is good old Paddy on the beat.

1972 November 6, Gerald Clarke, “Show Business: Viewpoints: The Rookies. ABC. Monday, 8–9 p.m. E.S.T.”, in Time, New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2011-01-29:

Companies sell directories, databases, reports, translation services, automatic translation software—and guidebooks for doing business away from home, which, in some cases, look much like simplified textbooks for Anthropology 101.

2003, Daniel Dor, “When Relativism Becomes a Marketing Strategy: Globalization, Knowledge and the World Language System”, in Andrea Krizsán, Violetta Zentai, editors, Reshaping Globalization: Multilateral Dialogues and New Policy Initiatives (CPS Books), Budapest, Hungary; New York, N.Y.: Central European University Press, →ISBN, →ISSN, part I (Production of Global Knowledge), page 66:

Ugh! Crash and burn! Next year, I’m taking flirting 101! I am so not good at this!

2003 June 22, Holly Henderson, Liz Tigelaar, “Ski Trip”, in Totally Spies!, season 2, episode 21, spoken by Samantha (“Sam”) (Jennifer Hale), Montreal, Que.: Marathon Media, via Teletoon, →OCLC:

A Class in Nation-Building 101 [title] As the President tries to develop a new strategy in Afghanistan, I wonder if this is the real lesson that we've learned in Afghanistan so far: that nation-building, like charity, probably begins at home.

2009 November 1, Bob Schieffer, “Face the Nation: A Class in Nation-building 101”, in CBS News, archived from the original on 2025-01-24:

I'm taking a fascinating class all about the Hollywood Freeway. It's called 101: 101.

2017 September 12, Norm Macdonald Live, season 3, episode 11, spoken by Norm Macdonald:

However much you work out, but especially if it's a lot, learning correct form and focusing on keeping your body safe is 101—not just while exercising, but also how you move around day to day.

2023 March 20, Rebecca Gillam, Bridie Wilkins, “Alexandra Daddario and Her PT on How She Built Her Baywatch Bod + Her 10 Regular Workout Rules”, in Liz Plosser, editor, Women’s Health, New York, N.Y.: Hearst Magazine Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-06-21:

(Canada, US, alone or postpositive, chiefly humorous) Of a fact, subject, etc.: basic, beginner-level, elementary.

úvodní

of a fact, subject, etc.: basic, beginner-level, elementary — see also basic, elementary


Haligonian

(Canada) Of, from, or pertaining to the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

halifaksa

of, from, or pertaining to the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada


Haligonian

The Haligonian is "not known to Halifax Regional Police in any significant way," she said.

2007 May 17, “Suspect arrested in Nova Scotia gay murders”, in National Post, retrieved 2007-05-30:

(Canada) A native or inhabitant of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.


rushing

en-adj

rushing (comparative more rushing, superlative most rushing)

more rushing (comparative)
most rushing (superlative)

“I have been in Chicago.”
“Yes, I’ll bet you have,” Bocage mused.
“But it is too rushing for my nerves,” Stockbridge continued.

1897, Opie Read, “The Greek God Barber”, in Odd Folks, New York: F. Tennyson Neely, page 45:

There are a few months in the winter when business on the farm is less rushing than during other times […]

1917, Marion G. Kirkpatrick, chapter 13, in The Rural School from Within, Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, page 141:

In the places where “hard licker” was still to be had patrons were lined in front of the bar in a double rank and the trade in bottled goods was as rushing as the bar patronage.

1921, George Wesley Davis, chapter 18, in Sketches of Butte, Boston: Cornhill, page 166:

Over two hundred and fifty customers invaded the Book Exchange Monday and Tuesday as its portals swung open to those who were to receive cash payment for books sold. So rushing was the business yesterday that $500 which the executive had on hand was paid out long before the proposed closing time.

1932 October 26, “Book Exchange Will Continue Payments”, in The McGill Daily, volume 22, number 19, page 4:

Janie was astonished to see the money Jody had spent for the land come back to him so fast. Ten new families bought lots and moved to town in six weeks. It all looked too big and rushing for her to keep track of.

1937, Zora Neale Hurston, chapter 5, in Their Eyes Were Watching God, University of Illinois Press, published 1978, page 66:

(Canada, US, dated) Full of activity, busy.


CIS

Canadian Interuniversity Sport
w:Canadian Interuniversity Sport

(Canada, sports, historical) Initialism of Canadian Interuniversity Sport.


chop suey

en-noun

chop suey (countable and uncountable, plural chop sueys)

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

From Cantonese 雜碎／杂碎 (zaap⁶ seoi³, “mixed and broken”).

To someone who had spent part of their youth visiting a grandmother in Singapore, a lot of the food they served didn’t seem particularly Chinese to me: the flavour of chop suey with its chicken or pork or prawns, or chow mein, or the omeletty foo yung, never seemed quite right.

2011, Clarissa Dickson Wright, A History of English Food, London: Random House Books, →ISBN, page 455:

(Canada and British) Steamed bean sprouts served in a semi-thick sauce, and mixed with a choice of meat and/or vegetables.


beer parlour

beer parlours (plural)
beer parlor (alternative)

(Canada) A bar, selling beer, that has tables where customers may congregate socially.


beer parlor

Observational study of alcohol consumption in natural settings: The Vancouver beer parlor.

1994, Clement Vonnie V, Research and Intervention: Preventing Substance Abuse in Higher Education:

You go to the beer parlor, you know everybody.

1998, Antonio Azuela, Emilio Duhau, Evictions and the Right to Housing:

At UBC Canada, the student center also houses an auditorium and a beer parlor for students called the Pit, as well as a bowling alley on the lower ground floor.

2006, Ashok Malhotra, Fundamentals of Excellence in Technical and other Universities:

(chiefly Canada, US) Alternative spelling of beer parlour


toque

1871. Assimilated from Canadian French tuque. Likely to be a hypercorrection from the time that toque was already in the dictionaries when they did not yet list tuque as a kind of hat. The French word tuque for hat is itself not strictly a deformation of French toque: it is also related to other meanings of tuque and to its former name bonnet à la turque (lit. Turkish-style bunnet/cap).

Such is the demented nature of the universe that I was too weak to properly respond to my being hit on by carloads of Betties and Veronicas—all except for the cheeky Cheryl Anderson who gave me ‘manual release’ the day I lost my eye-brows, followed by a flood of tears and the snapping of Polaroids in which I wear a knit toque. Gush gush.

1998, Douglas Coupland, chapter 1, in Girlfriend in a Coma:

It was like entering the Millennial id. Craft beer and cucumber water poured from kitchen taps. Laptoppers in jeans and toques clacked along to MGMT in the wood-paneled common area.

2018 March, Laura Bliss, “How WeWork Has Perfectly Captured the Millennial Id”, in The Atlantic:

(Canada) A knitted hat, usually conical but of varying shape, often woollen, and sometimes topped by a pom-pom or tassel.


sovereigntist

sovereigntists (plural)
sovereignist (alternative)

(Canada, politics) A supporter of political independence for Quebec from Canada.


CSE

(Canada) Initialism of Communications Security Establishment.


horror movie

(chiefly Canada, US) A motion picture which entertains by horrifying or frightening the audience.

grilfliek

motion picture which horrifies or frightens


field mouse

field mice (plural)
fieldmouse (alternative)

(Canada, US) A small vole such as the meadow vole.


lineup

We have a simple business process that consists of two steps: people wait in a lineup then fill out an application form.

2005, Alastair Muir, Lean Six Sigma Statistics, page 285:

I've heard that information before and try to remember to do that when there isn't a lineup of customers. When there is a lineup of customers, I don't feel that I have enough time.

2019, Tamara Beth Olsen, Life Lessons from an Ice Cream Shop:

As soon as I entered, I saw a lineup of about 10 to 15 customers.

2020, Brenda Robinson, Harley Robinson, The Customer Service Your Customers Expect:

(Canada) A line of people or vehicles, in which the individual at the front end is dealt with first, the one behind is dealt with next, and so on, and in which newcomers join at the end; a queue.


class action

(law, chiefly US, Canada) A lawsuit brought by a single plaintiff or small group of plaintiffs as a representative of a large group of others having a common interest, with everyone in the large group eligible to receive damages if the plaintiff is successful.

複雑訴訟形態

ふくざつそしょうけいたい


potlatch

potlatch (usually uncountable, plural potlatches)

potlatches (plural)
potlach (alternative)
potlache (alternative)

/ˈpɑtˌlæt͡ʃ/

The noun is borrowed from Chinook Jargon potlatch, pátlač (“to give; gift; gift-giving ceremony, potlatch”), from Nootka Jargon pa'chatle, pa'chēētle, pah-chilt (“to give, give me”), from Nootka p̕ačiƛ (“to give a gift during a potlatch ceremony”).
Sense 1 of the verb (“to give; especially, to give a gift during a potlatch ceremony”) is borrowed from Chinook Jargon potlatch, pátlač (see above); sense 2 (“to carry out or take part in a potlatch ceremony”) is derived from the noun.

der

First, the Indian himself is to be sought out; then the horse is to be tried; next the price is to be discussed, then the mode of payment, and finally the potlatch: each and all are matters of grave consideration and delay, during which the Indians make a business of watching every circumstance of which they can take advantage. No one can be sure of closing his bargain, until the terms are duly arranged, the potlatch given, and the horse delivered.

1844, Charles Wilkes, “Puget Sound and Okonagan”, in Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition during the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842. […], volume IV, Philadelphia, Pa.: […] C. Sherman, →OCLC, page 445:

The end of all this scraping and hoarding is to give away the property again at some potlatch, at which in a few hours the labour of years will be dissipated. The feasts are often given by the chief men of small tribes as a sort of peace-offering to more powerful ones; but most frequently they are looked upon in the light of gratifying the vanity of the giver and of adding to his personal consequence. [...] The chiefs are under the necessity of frequently giving these potlatches in order to preserve their popularity, just as the old knights used to scatter largess to their followers; [...]

1873, Robert Brown, “The North-western American Indians”, in The Races of Mankind: […], volume I, London, Paris: Cassell, Petter, & Galpin, →OCLC, pages 75–76:

I questioned the Chief respecting a "Potlache" which he had held at his place during the previous winter, and ascertained that himself and two of his Headmen had given away in presents to their friends 134 sacks of flour, 140 pairs of blankets, together with a quantity of apples and provisions, amounting in value to about $700, for all of which they had paid in cash out of their earnings as laborers, fishermen, and hunters.

1876 October 15, James Lenihan, “British Columbia Superintendencies. [No. 29. Report on Indian Affairs in Fraser Superintendency, British Columbia.]”, in Annual Report of the Department of the Interior for the Year Ended 30th June, 1876. […], Ottawa: […] Maclean, Roger & Co., […], published 1877, →OCLC, part I (Indian Branch), page 38:

Nusk’Elu′sta, the Indian, to whom I owe my information regarding the clans, and who is a member of the gens Ialô′stimōt of the Taliô′mx·, stated that he had received the raven [carving] when he gave his first potlatch. At his second potlatch he received the eagle. He hoped that his mother would give him the whale at his next potlatch, and would at the same time divulge to him the secrets connected with it. [...] Property is also destroyed at potlatches. This is not returned, and serves only to enhance the social position of the individual who performed this act.

1897, Franz Boas, “The Social Organization and the Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl Indians, […]”, in Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, […] Report of the U.S. National Museum, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, →ISSN, →OCLC, chapter XIII (The Religious Ceremonials of Other Tribes of the North Pacific Coast), pages 647–648:

That night there was a grand wedding and a potlach; so that for two days to follow there was no fishing done by the village.

1900 April 7, Jack London, “The Wife of a King”, in The Son of the Wolf: Tales of the Far North, Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC, page 162:

No potlatch or secret society initiation could be given by a tribal member until the chief had officially opened the winter ceremonial season. His affairs took priority over those sponsored by lineage heads, who must provide him with wealth befor they were able to accumulate for their own potlatches.

[1951], Viola E[dmundson] Garfield, “Part 1: The Tsimshian and Their Neighbors”, in Viola E. Garfield, Paul S. Wingert, Marius Barbeau, edited by Marian W. Smith, The Tsimshian: Their Arts and Music (Publications of the American Ethnological Society; XVIII), New York, N.Y.: J. J. Augustin, →OCLC, chapter III (Political Organization), page 37:

Anyway, I lie here and imagine grandfather celebrating a heavenly potlache – (heaven is the only place he'll ever celebrate it, for it's long since been forbidden by the government here on earth) – and the great Christian gates are opening for him now, and behind him the charred remains of his pipe and his blue denims bear witness to the last potlache of all.

1971, Gwendolyn MacEwen, “House of the Whale”, in David Helwig, Tom Marshall, editors, Fourteen Stories High, Ottawa, Ont.: Oberon Press, →ISBN, pages 26–27; republished in Meaghan Strimas, editor, The Selected Gwendolyn MacEwen (Exile Classics; no. 7), Holstein, Ont.: Exile Editions, 2007, →ISBN, page 142:

Corporations will now have to justify all their internal pricing decisions up front. This will be a potlatche^([sic]) for economic consultants. But it will be a huge burden for honest business taxpayers, and it won't bring us much closer to a solution.

1993 March 25, Byron L[eslie] Dorgan, “Opening Statement of Senator Dorgan”, in The Breakdown of IRS Tax Enforcement Regarding Multinational Corporations: Revenue Losses, Excessive Litigation, and Unfair Burdens for U.S. Producers: Hearing before the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, First Session […] (S. Hrg. 103-102), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, →ISBN, page 2:

One part bacchanal, one part tribal potlatch, one part vestigial New England supper, the entire affair hinged on the coronation of the Strawberry Princess—always a virginal Japanese maiden dressed in satin and dusted carefully across the face with rice powder—in an oddly solemn ceremony before the Island County Courthouse at sundown of the inaugural evening.

1994 September 12, David Guterson, chapter 7, in Snow Falling on Cedars, [Boston, Mass.]: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, published 2012, →ISBN:

This was the delusion of Reaganomics, the supply-siders' inability to distinguish between spending and prosperity with the result that we simply waged economic warfare on ourselves in a potlatch of mutually assured bankruptcy.

1995, Michael Sorkin, “War is Swell”, in Donald Albrecht, editor, World War II and the American Dream: How Wartime Building Changed a Nation, Washington, D.C.: National Building Museum, →ISBN, page 251:

Traditionally, potlatches were given in honor of marriages, births, and deaths. [...] People who had been shamed in public could throw a potlatch to regain good standing in the community.

2014, Kate Mikoley, “The Potlatch”, in Therese Shea, editor, Native American Ceremonies and Celebrations: From Potlatches to Powwows (Native American Cultures), New York, N.Y.: Gareth Stevens Publishing, →ISBN, page 14:

(Canada, US, also figuratively) A ceremony amongst certain indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest in which gifts are bestowed upon guests and personal property is destroyed in a show of generosity and wealth.

樂公 /乐公

communal meal to which guests bring dishes to share — see also potluck


upload

en-verb

upload (third-person singular simple present uploads, present participle uploading, simple past and past participle uploaded)

uploads (present singular third-person)
uploading (participle present)
uploaded (participle past)
uploaded (past)

→ Chinese: 上載 /上载 (calque)

→ Danish: uploade

→ Dutch: uploaden

→ German: uploaden; hochladen (calque)

desc

→ Greek: αναφορτώνω (anafortóno) (calque)

→ Icelandic: hlaða upp (calque)

→ Indonesian: aplod

→ Irish: uaslódáil, lódáil suas (calque)

→ Japanese: アップロード (appurōdo)

→ Malay: muat naik (calque)

→ Portuguese: upload

→ Scottish Gaelic: luchdaich a-nìos (calque)

→ Swedish: ladda upp (calque)

→ Welsh: llwytho i fyny (calque)

Our government will not be uploading the DVP or Gardiner Expressway and will not be imposing any new tolls on any roads in Ontario.

CBC News (2023 January 9 (last accessed)) “Dakota Brasier”, in CBC, CBC, archived from the original on 2023-09-02

(Canada) To transfer jurisdiction and responsibility of a government asset or service to a higher level of government.


Hudson

The water-level route, the whistle and the loud staccato exhaust of this great engine recalled most vividly memories of the New York Central Hudsons highballing along the Hudson River between Harmon and Albany!

1960 October, P. Ransome-Wallis, “Modern motive power of the German Federal Railway: Part Two”, in Trains Illustrated, page 613:

(rail transport, US, Canada) A steam locomotive of the 4-6-4 wheel arrangement.


toonie

toonies (plural)
twonie (alternative)
twoonie (alternative)

(Canada, informal) A Canadian two-dollar coin.


candour

en-noun

candour (usually uncountable, plural candours)

British and Canada standard spelling of candor.


grounded

en-adj

grounded (comparative more grounded, superlative most grounded)

more grounded (comparative)
most grounded (superlative)

From Middle English grounded, i-grounded, equivalent to ground + -ed.

(electricity, Canada, US) Of or pertaining to an electrical conductor which is connected to earth; earthed.


meathead

From meat + head.
The term meathead is often said to come from the classic 1970s television situation comedy All In The Family, wherein main character Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) used the nickname to address his son-in-law, Michael Stivic (Rob Reiner), starting with the premiere episode ("Meet the Bunkers") that first aired January 12, 1971. The term is also used three times in the "Star Witness" episode of the television situation comedy Green Acres, an episode that first aired January 26, 1971, exactly two weeks after the premiere of All in the Family. However, the word appeared in writing as early as 1863.

(military, slang, Canada) A member of the Canadian Forces Military Police.


condo

(US, Canada, Philippines) Clipping of condominium.


fluff

en-noun

fluff (countable and uncountable, plural fluffs)

From earlier floow (“woolly substance, down, nap, lint”), also spelt flough, flue, and flew, from West Flemish vluwe,
of uncertain ultimate origin:
* Compare Old English flōh (“that which is flown off, fragment, piece”) - see flaw
* Possibly representing a blend of flue + puff; compare Middle Dutch vloe, or perhaps onomatopoeic; compare dialectal English floose, flooze, fleeze (“particles of wool or cotton; fluff; loose threads or fibres”), Danish fnug (“down, fluff”), Swedish fnugg (“speck, flake”).
* Alternatively, West Flemish vluwe may derive from French velu (“hairy, furry”), from Latin villūtus (“having shaggy hair”), from villus (“shaggy hair, tuft of hair”).
For words of similar sound and meaning in other languages, compare Japanese フワフワ (fuwafuwa, “lightly, softly”), Hungarian puha (“soft, fluffy”), Polish puchaty (“soft, fluffy”),Romanian puf (“down, peachfuzz, soft hair of some animals, powderpuff”).

onomatopoeic

onomatopoeic

cog

(Australia, New Zealand, Canada, euphemistic) A fart.


enrol

en-verb

enrol (third-person singular simple present enrols, present participle enrolling, simple past and past participle enrolled)

enrols (present singular third-person)
enrolling (participle present)
enrolled (participle past)
enrolled (past)

(British, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Canada) Standard spelling of enroll.


burg

The historical sense is from Late Latin burgus, from Frankish *burg, from Proto-Germanic *burgz (“borough, fortification”). Doublet of borough, Brough, burgh, burh, and bury. Also compare burgess.
The modern sense may have been formed in part by analogy with the many North American city names that are suffixed with -burg (a number of which in the Eastern United States once used -burgh instead. See burgh), as well as being formed in part due to German Burg.

doublet

Tell mother that I will write her in a day or two, probably from Chicago, as I have always had an idea that that was one burg where I could make good.

1921, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Efficiency Expert, HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2012:

Imagine my surprise when I learned that he was not only a Canadian but lived in Ottawa, that icy burg I had left so many kilometers -- sorry, miles -- behind me.

2009 June, David Thriault, “This Way In: The Sound and the Fury”, in Esquire, volume 151, number 6, page 6:

It's been said that Wilder modeled that fictional setting on Peterborough, a quaint burg tucked away in New Hampshire's verdant southwestern hills.

2010 Feb, Paige Orloff, “Big Style on a (Little) Budget”, in Country Living, volume 33, number 2, page 84:


left and right

right and left (alternative)
left, right and center (alternative)
left, right and centre (alternative)
right, left and center (alternative)
right, left and centre (alternative)

You can't expect to eat desserts left and right and not gain weight.

And then all the distributions come in and they screw it all up. Because they break binary compatibility left and right

2014, Linus Torvalds, DebConf: Q&A with Linus Torvalds:

(Canada, US) All over the place; indiscriminately; frequently or excessively.


Happy Thanksgiving

(US, Canada) The greeting said near the holiday Thanksgiving.


gudgeon

The noun is derived from Late Middle English gojoun [and other forms], from Old French gojon, goujon (“gudgeon”), from Late Latin gōbiōnem, the accusative of gōbiō, the augmentative of Latin gōbius (“gudgeon”), from Ancient Greek κωβῐός (kōbĭós, “fish of the gudgeon kind”), probably of Semitic origin. The English word is a doublet of goby and goujon.
The verb is derived from the noun.

nb...

gogen, gogeon, gogeorn, gogin, gogyn, gojon, gojone, gojune

flat-headed gudgeon

Butis butis B., Philypnodon grandiceps E.

(Canada) Cottus bairdii, more widely known as mottled sculpin.


buzzcut

buzzcuts (plural)
buzz cut (alternative)

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

(US, Canada) A closely-cropped military-style haircut.


entrée

Borrowed from French entrée. Doublet of entrada and entry.

ENTREES AND ENTREMETS. Usually, outside of France, entrees are side or corner dishes. ... In conclusion I again remark, entrees can be made from almost anything, the difference being, they are highly cooked and seasoned. Remember nothing large is served as an entree. There are game entrees, meat entrees, fish entrees, fowl entrees, etc.

1887, Estelle Woods Wilcox, Practical housekeeping: A careful compilation of tried and approved recipes (published in Dayton, Ohio, United States), page 457:

(historical in the US and Canada) A smaller dish served before the main course of a meal.

предястие

dish served before the main course of a meal — see also starter, appetizer

Entree: The main course is normally beef, chicken, duck, or lamb, and you eat these foods with a dinner knife and dinner fork.

2007, Sue Fox, Etiquette for Dummies (published in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States), page 180:

(chiefly US, Canada) The main course or main dish of a meal.


cupola

Borrowed from Italian cupola, from Latin cūpula (“little tub”); from Latin cūpa, cuppa (“cup”); named for its resemblance to a cup turned over.

(railways, Canada, dated) a small viewing window in the top of the caboose for looking over the train, or the part of the caboose where one looks through this window.


screech

en-noun

screech (countable and uncountable, plural screeches)

1602; altered with expressive vowel lengthening from earlier skrech (1577), variant of obsolete scritch, from Middle English skriken, shrichen, schrichen (1250), from Old English (attested as scriccettan) and Old Norse skríkja, both from Proto-Germanic *skrīkijaną (compare Icelandic skríkja, Old Saxon scricōn, Danish skrige, Swedish skrika), derivative of *skrīhaną (compare Middle Dutch schriën, German schreien, Low German dial. schrien, schriegen), ultimately of imitative origin.

onomatopoeic

imitative

(uncountable) A form of home-made rye whiskey made from used oak rye barrels from a distillery.


finesse

en-verb

finesse (third-person singular simple present finesses, present participle finessing, simple past and past participle finessed)

finesses (present singular third-person)
finessing (participle present)
finessed (participle past)
finessed (past)

From Middle English finesse (“degree of excellence; (of metal) fineness, purity”), from Middle French finesse, Old French finesse (“fineness; delicacy; slenderness”), from fine, fin (“fine, thin”) (from Latin fīnis (“end”); compare Middle English fīn (“of superior quality; precious, valuable; admirable, pleasing; pure, refined; fineness, purity; delicate, exquisite, fine; sharp, thin”)) + -esse (suffix forming nouns describing the condition of being something).
The verb is derived from the noun.

esquivar

to evade using some clever argument or stratagem

Distressed as she was, she rose the next morning determined to contend with her feelings,—to think no more of Trevor,—and to finesse no more for a husband—she had had enough of it.

1835, chapter XIV, in Finesse. … In Two Volumes, volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 240:

As the children continue to shoot one another, I ask them some questions about guns. […] [M]ost revealing to me is that the children fully agree that they are playing a pretend game. The bad guys "really hurt people" and Freddie knows it because he "plays" it. Really hurting in pretend play … the children are not confused by this finessing of real and pretend. I think it is we adults who are confused by it.

2010 May, Kim Atkinson, “Working among the Good & Bad”, in Island Parent Magazine, Victoria, B.C.: Krayenhoff-Holland Enterprises, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2019-02-05; quoted in Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw, Fikile Nxumalo, Laurie Kocher, Enid Elliot, Alejandra Sanchez, “Thinking Together”, in Journeys: Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Practices through Pedagogical Narration, Toronto, Ont.: University of Toronto Press, 2015, →ISBN, page 128:

When we get the script and we have a piece that's being written to or being created around a voiceover, we'll generally do a scratch voiceover track here and time it out to that, then get the real voiceover and do some finessing there.

2011, Yael Braha, Bill Byrne, quoting Stacy Nimmo, “The Essentials of Typography and Time [Interview: Stacy Nimmo on Title Design]”, in Creative Motion Graphic Titling for Film, Video, and the Web, Burlington, Mass., Kidlington, Oxfordshire: Focal Press, →ISBN, page 108:

After making the original capture[…], I sat down to finesse it in Photoshop.

2015, Nylora[-Joy] Bruleigh, “Just beyond Reach: Lighting, Posing, and Styling; Postproduction”, in Fine Art Portrait Photography: Lighting, Posing & Postproduction from Concept to Completion, Buffalo, N.Y.: Amherst Media, →ISBN, page 62:

Finesse a nigga with some counterfeits, but now I'm countin' this / Parmesan where my accountant lives, in fact I'm downin' this

2017 March 30, Kendrick Duckworth, Michael Williams II, Asheton Hoga (lyrics and music), “Humble”, in Damn, performed by Kendrick Lamar:

So with valuable extra time to finesse its passenger handling and communications strategies, NR set its sights on rescheduling the work to begin this December instead.

2020 September 23, Paul Stephen, “East Coast upgrade: changes to schedule... but on schedule”, in Rail, page 30:

(transitive, chiefly Canada, US, politics) To evade (a problem, situation, etc.) by using some clever argument or stratagem.

(ambitransitive) To handle or manage carefully or skilfully; to manipulate in a crafty way.

finasser

to handle or manage carefully or skilfully; to manipulate in a crafty way

I was tryin'a finesse you outta them drawers, and you finessed a nigga out his heart," he said with a chuckle, "But that's cool. 'Cause I know it's in good hands."

2020, Racquel Williams, Finessed a Dope Boy's Heart:

(transitive, slang) To obtain something from someone through trickery or manipulation.

It is said that democratic institutions necessarily lead to political corruption. I can only say that it has not been so in this Colony. Members have schemed, finessed, log-rolled, to serve their districts, but never to put money in their own pockets.

1876, “Government and Laws”, in William Harcus, editor, South Australia: Its History, Resources, and Productions, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, […], →OCLC, page 38:

The founders deliberately finessed other issues concerning religion and the relationship between church and state to ensure the ratification of the Constitution.

2013, James F[ranklin] Harris, “The Supreme Court”, in The Serpentine Wall: The Winding Boundary between Church and State in the United States, New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, →ISBN, part III (Church and State in the Modern United States), page 185:

[…] Britain's Prime Minister David Lloyd George finessed the distinction between "indemnification" and "reparations" by insisting that his government's pension payments to the families of fallen soldiers should also be categorized as 'civilian" damages, thus making the recipients eligible for "reparations" to the tune of at least $110 billion[…].

2015, Howard M[orley] Sachar, “The Death of Giacomo Matteotti”, in The Assassination of Europe, 1918–1942: A Political History, Toronto, Ont.: University of Toronto Press, →ISBN, page 82:

Almost miraculously, [risk-neutral valuation] finesses the problem that we know hardly anything about the risk aversion of the buyers and sellers of options.

2018, John C. Hull, Options, Futures and Other Derivatives, 10th edition, Pearson, page 276:


nosebleed seat

You might want to bring binoculars if you will be in the nosebleed seats, so that you can see the action on the stage better.

A few fans who buy nosebleed seats to see Paul McCartney get the chance to see a Beatle as closely as they might have at the Cavern Club in 1962.

2023 August 10, Matthew Cantor, “‘Paul McCartney winked right at me’: the fans who buy nosebleed seats – and get whisked to the front”, in The Guardian, UK:

(Canada, US) A seat in the nosebleed section, usually cheaper and with a poorer view than other seats.


donut hole

donut holes (plural)
doughnut hole (alternative)

These donut holes are delicious!

(US, Canada) A small ball-shaped pastry, made in the same manner as a donut, roughly the size of the hole in a donut.


CVT

veterinary technician
veterinary technician#English

(US, Canada) Initialism of certified veterinary technician.


patriate

en-verb

patriate (third-person singular simple present patriates, present participle patriating, simple past and past participle patriated)

patriates (present singular third-person)
patriating (participle present)
patriated (participle past)
patriated (past)

Canadian English. Back-formation of repatriate.

Canada moved to patriate its constitution from the United Kingdom in 1982.

(Canada, transitive) To assume control of (a governmental power) from a former mother country.


corrections

/kəˈɹɛkʃənz/

(US, Canada, law) Relating to the punishment, treatment, or supervision of persons who have been convicted of a crime


tick off

tick off (third-person singular simple present ticks off, present participle ticking off, simple past and past participle ticked off)

ticks off (present singular third-person)
ticking off (participle present)
ticked off (participle past)
ticked off (past)

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

It really ticks me off when people don't use proper punctuation.

(Canada, US, transitive) To annoy, aggravate.


cut off

cut off (third-person singular simple present cuts off, present participle cutting off, simple past and past participle cut off)

cuts off (present singular third-person)
cutting off (participle present)
cut off (participle past)
cut off (past)

(transitive, Canada, US) To swerve in front of (another car) while driving.

kiilata

to swerve in front of another car while driving


dishonour

en-noun

dishonour (countable and uncountable, plural dishonours)

tlb

(UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa)

dishonours (plural)
dishonor (alternative)

From Old French deshonor, equivalent to dis- + honour.

negotiable instrument
negotiable instrument

(law) Failure or refusal of the drawee or intended acceptor of a negotiable instrument, such as a bill of exchange or note, to accept it or, if it is accepted, to pay and retire it.


bushed

After three weeks up there I was bushed and needed to get out.

(Canada) Mentally unwell due to isolation, especially due to working in a remote mine or camp; experiencing cabin fever.


rancour

en-noun

rancour (countable and uncountable, plural rancours)

First attested as Middle English rancour in the early 13th century, from Old French rancor, from Latin rancor (“rancidity, grudge, rancor”), from ranceō (“be rotten or putrid, stink”), from which also English rancid.

uder

By some paradoxical evolution rancour and intolerance have been established in the vanguard of primitive Christianity. Mrs. Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in demeanour as she was cadaverous in aspect.

1921, Ben Travers, chapter 4, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:

British, Canada, and Australia spelling of rancor


loon

Of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse lómr (“loon”), ultimately imitative of the bird's cry, particularly when it's in danger. Distantly related to lament, probably sharing Proto-Indo-European *leh₂- (expressive root).

onomatopoeic

imitative

The Loone is an ill ſhap'd thing like a Cormorant; but that he can neyther goe nor flye; he maketh a noiſe ſometimes like a Sovvgelders horne.

1634, William Wood, “Of the Birds and Fowles both of Land and Water”, in New Englands Prospect. A True, Lively, and Experimentall Description of that Part of America, Commonly Called New England; […], London: […] Tho[mas] Cotes, for Iohn Bellamie, […], →OCLC, 1st part, page 31:

[O]h, yes! the loon does shriek dreadfully - particularly when there's fine rain […]

1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H. L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 286:

He came again to her and she said: ‘Run swifter than the deer, be more cunning than the beaver, dive deeper than the loon.’

1903, Zane Grey, Betty Zane, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers, →OCLC:

And I listened for a voice;— / But my heart was all I heard; / Not a screech-owl, not a loon, / Not a tree-toad said a word.

1921, Edna St. Vincent Millay, “The Blue-Flag in the Bog”, in Second April:

(US, Canada) Any of various birds, of the order Gaviiformes, of North America and Europe that dive for fish and have a short tail, webbed feet and a yodeling cry.