French Canada

jeudredi

Portmanteau USED Frequently BY people at the office

A contraction of "jeudi" (Thursday) and "vendredi" (Friday) and it's what we call it when you have Friday off work, so that your Thursday becomes your Friday i.e. your last work day for the week.

"Bon jeudredi tout le monde!" "Ah oui, tu as congé demain!"

"Happy Thriday everyone!" "Oh right, you're off tomorrow!"

Newfoundland english Canada

twack

Word USED Frequently BY Newfoundlanders

Verb, used to describe the act of shopping with the express intent of not buying anything.

"Come on b’y, let’s go twack ‘til dinner time."

English Canada

chummy

Slang USED On Rare Occasion BY Some people

A noun to be used in place of "thing"

"I forget what it's called, but pass me that chummy"

English Canada

double-double

Slang USED Frequently BY Canadians

(n.) • Common way to drink coffee in Canada. 2 cream and 2 sugar.

“Hi, can I order a double-double please?”

Confirmed by 2 people

French Québec, Canada

beurrer épais

Expression USED On Occasion BY Most People

(to butter thickly) • To exaggerate, like putting a very liberal coat of butter on a piece of toast. Also, in a way, to brag.

"Je crois qu'il en a beurré épais quand il a raconté son aventure." "J'ai l'air d'en beurrer épais, mais c'est vraiment arrivé comme ça !"

"I think he buttered thickly in his retelling of his adventure." "I do not mean to butter thickly, but it really happened that way!"

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French Québec, Canada

frette

Slang USED Frequently BY Everybody

Used to describe something that is very cold. Mostly used to talk about the weather, but can also be used to talk about anything that is very cold. It is a variation of the word "froid", which means cold. But, since Québec and Canada are very up north, "froid" was not cold enough, hence came another level of cold: "frette". This expression can be transformed in other expressions, like "tite frette", which translates to "a cold one", meaning a beer.

"Wow, il fait tellement froid ici." "Il fait pas froid, il fait frette." "Wow, c'est vraiment de l'eau frette."

"Wow, it is so cold here." "It is not cold, it is frette." "Wow, this is really frette water."

French Québec, Canada

tabarnak

Slang USED Frequently BY Everybody, mostly in informal contexts

This is a curse word, or a prefix to amplify something. Like "fucking <thing>". Used alone, it's a bit the equivalent of saying "fuck!" in Québec.

*stumps toe* "Tabarnak!"

French Canada

sirop de poteau

Expression USED On Occasion BY Everyone

(telephone pole syrup) • It's a derogatory way of describing commercial syrups which are not true maple syrup.

"Ce restaurant est bien cheap. On sert du sirop de poteau avec leurs crêpes."

"This restaurant is very cheap. They serve telephone pole syrup with their crepes."

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English Canada

flow

Word USED On Occasion BY Ice hockey players

(noun) • Long hair that sticks out of a hockey player's helmet

"Jagr has the best flow in hockey history."

Confirmed by 2 people

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French | Québécois Québec, Canada

tomber dans sa semaine

Expression USED Very frequently BY Usually younger people

(to fall in one's week) • Used as a euphemism to mean “starting your period”.

“As-tu un tampon? Je viens de tomber dans ma semaine.”

“Do you have a tampon? I just fell in my week.”

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French | French Canadian Québec, Canada

Saint-Clin-Clin-des-Meuh-Meuh

Expression USED On Occasion BY Everybody

(n.) • It is used to refer to a remote location, most often than not, a far away village, "in the middle of nowhere", because in Québec, a lot of small villages are named "Saint-(something)".

"Mon cousin habite à Saint-Clin-Clin-des-Meuh-Meuh."

"My cousin lives In-the-middle-of-nowhere."

French | Joual Québec, Canada

siffleux

Word USED On Occasion BY Older Generations, Countryside people

(n.) • (whistler) • Used to refer to a groundhog, mostly because of the sounds they make when angry (that sounds like a sharp whistle).

"J'ai fini par attraper le siffleux qui détruisait mon jardin !"

"I finally caught the whistler that was destroying my garden!"

ety

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French Québec, Canada

pantoute

Word USED Very frequently BY Everyone

(adverb) • Not at all, none. Also used to insist on that idea.

"Ça ne me dérange pas pantoute !" "Je ne vois rien pantoute."

"It doesn't bother me at all" "I can't see anything."

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English Canada

fits like a gunny sack

Expression USED Frequently BY Some People

Expression used to describe how poorly a garment fits to the body of the person wearing it.

"What do you think of my dress?" "Sorry but it fits like a gunny sack."

English Canada

fits like a glove

Expression USED Frequently BY Everyone

It is a standard and frequently used way to say that something fits extremely well.

"That's a beautiful jacket and it fits him like a glove."

Confirmed by 8 people

English Canada

a few fries short of a Happy Meal

Expression USED On Rare Occasion BY Some people

Variation of “a few bricks short of a load” to describe someone who isn’t very smart.

“That guy just cut me off on the road! Couldn’t he see my car?” “He must be a few fries short of a happy meal.”

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English Canada, United States

thanks, Captain Obvious

Expression USED On Occasion BY Everyone

Used sarcastically when someone points out the obvious. Can be used in jest between friends or scathingly sarcastic as an insult.

“The sign says “pull” the door open.” “Thanks, Captain Obvious!”

Confirmed by 5 people

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French Québec, Canada

piastre

Word USED Frequently BY everyone

(n.) • In Québec French, "piastre" means dollar. Pronounced as "piasse", and often missheard as "pièce" by European French speakers.

"Combien t'a coûté ta nouvelle chemise ?" "20 piastres!"

"How much did you pay for your shirt?" "20 bucks!"

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French | Canadian French Quebec, Canada

être habillé comme la chienne à Jacques

Expression USED On Occasion BY Almost Everyone

(to be dressed like Jacques' female dog. ) • Used to describe a person dressed poorly. Apparently, a man named Jacques Aubert, who lived during the 19th century, was known as single all his life and only had one companion: a female dog that lost all of its fur because of some disease. During cold winter times, he would dress up his dog with old clothes and rags.

"On a beau être en vacances, ce n'est pas une raison pour s'habiller comme la chienne à Jacques."

"Even if we're on a vacation, it's not a reason to be dressed like Jacques' female dog."

Confirmed by 2 people

French Québec, Canada

tire-toi une bûche

Expression USED Frequently BY Almost Everyone

(pull yourself a log) • Used to tell someone to take a seat. Usually informal and used with people you are somewhat familiar with.

"Reste pas debout, tire-toi une bûche!"

"Don't just stand there, pull yourself a log!"