Hydro bill != water bill

I was just talking to someone about my hydro bill. I managed to correct that one before getting asked what the hell a hydro bill is, but it inspired me to add to my list of Canadianisms I use that might confuse someone, because there are still ones I’ve just found out about (i.e. pencil crayons), and I was wondering if there were more. Here are some random ones I found on the interbutts. I’m sure some of these are used here, but I have no idea which ones those might be, because they’re all so familiar.

  • Stag party = Bachelorette party
  • Humidex = Measurement of what the temperature feels like in the summer when you factor in humidity
  • Butter tart = Disgusting dessert
  • Bachelor apartment = Studio apartment
  • Gotchies/undergotchies = Underwear
  • Panzerotto = Not a calzone, but close
  • Dick = What I did today (nothing)
  • Homo milk = Whole milk
  • Rubber = Eraser
  • March break = Spring break
  • Mickey = Pint bottle of booze (I had to look this up, because I still can’t process American measurements)
  • Forty/forty pounder = Forty ounce bottle of any liquor, not just malt liquor
  • Pissed = A word for drunk that is not used often enough stateside, along with sloshed, smashed, and eh… a whole lot of others
  • Poutine = What I wish I was eating right now — I live close enough to Wisconsin, there have got to be some fresh cheese curds somewhere around here…
  • Pogo = Canadian brand of corn dogs, used generically
  • KD = Short for KD, and all macaroni and cheese is Kraft Dinner (I still use this all the time)
  • Wenis = insult formed from a combination of wiener and penis
  • Timbit = Doughnut hole
  • Gino = (or Gina, if they’re female) Toronto version of a guido
  • Rice King = Guy who only dates asians
  • Ookpik = Well, I don’t know how to explain this. So, um, click here
  • Toque = I still haven’t determined the proper replacement term for a toque. Stocking cap, skull cap, and beanie don’t do it for me, because I know what those are, and they ain’t toques. A stocking cap is one of those elongated dealies, like Santa Claus wears. A skull cap is like a toque but is too short to fold over, and if it’s really short, it’s a Yarmulke or other religious head-covering. A beanie is made of stiffer material and sometimes has a propeller on top. And yet I get laughed at for calling a toque a toque. Excuuuuuuse me, but that’s what it is!

Oh, and…

  • Hydro bill = Electric bill (Canada uses a lot of hydroelectric power)

14 thoughts on “Hydro bill != water bill

  1. I learned a lot today. I assumed Hydro bill would be water bill for some reason :(.

    Where are you?!

  2. I learned a lot today. I assumed Hydro bill would be water bill for some reason :(.

    Where are you?!

  3. I like bacon better inside the pig. Piggies are too smart to eat! I’m an ex-vegetarian, but I’m about to relapse. I saw a segment on “This American Life” a while back about pig farms, and… yeah, that about did it for me and pork.

  4. I like bacon better inside the pig. Piggies are too smart to eat! I’m an ex-vegetarian, but I’m about to relapse. I saw a segment on “This American Life” a while back about pig farms, and… yeah, that about did it for me and pork.

  5. Ah, thank you. I have wondered for far too long what exactly a toque was. (since the days of watching Strange Brew, actually)

  6. Ah, thank you. I have wondered for far too long what exactly a toque was. (since the days of watching Strange Brew, actually)

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