While we’re at it, let’s continue the theme of directions. If someone tells you that your destination is "about three klicks away," you may be puzzled. Don’t be - klick is just another word for a kilometer in Canadian English. So your destination is just 3 kilometers away, which is roughly 1.9 miles.
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Sadly, the word parkade is not as fun as it sounds. It has nothing to do with arcades, parks, or entertainment, and it has everything to do with boring-old parking. In Canada, a parkade is a word used to describe any large (usually multi-storeyed) indoor parking garage. It’s one of those useful words for foreign drivers to know in Canada.
You certainly hear the word dart quite a lot in Canada. But it’s not because people in Canada are all fans of dart games. Dart is just a popular slang word for “cigarette.”
The word toque (or tuque) is pronounced “too-uk” or “tuke,” and it refers to any winter hat, usually a woven ski hat or a beanie. The term is actually derived from the Arabic word taqia, which is a cap with no brim or a very small brim. In the 15th century, medieval French borrowed this word, and it was adopted into Canadian English through French in the 18th century.
If you think about it, the word restroom isn’t the most logical way to refer to a bathroom. After all, most people get most of their daily rest in the bedroom or living room. The Canadian word for the restroom, which is washroom, gets much closer to describing the activities that are actually conducted in a bathroom. It’s an easy one to remember too.
Pencil crayon sounds like a pretty clumsy way to refer to a colored pencil, but that’s exactly what many Canadians call them. This is likely due to French too. In French, colored pencils are known as crayon de couleur.
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The word keener is a not very nice way to describe a person. A keener is either a person who tries way too hard to please others or another word for “geek” in Canadian English. It shouldn’t be confused with Irish keeners, who were historical funeral wailers hired to mourn over someone who passed away.
Head’r may look like a typo, but it actually means “to leave” or “to head out” in New Brunswick slang. So, you could say something like "I guess I'd better head'r," when you’re about to leave from your current location.
If your Canadian friend calls you and asks you to pick up a two-four before on your way to his or her house, they want you to buy a 24-pack of beer. The word Mickie is also related to alcohol - it’s a 375 ml bottle of liquor that can easily fit in a bag or big pocket.
When you meet a Canadian acquaintance and they ask “What you sayin’?” they’re not asking you to clarify your statement. It can be misleading, but “What you sayin’?” is actually more similar to “What are you up to?” So, a person can call you and ask, “Hi! What you sayin’ tonight? Because I wanted to invite you over for dinner.”
