Americans and Canadians culture Q&A Thread.

[Buzz Rules]

Canadians, do you have any questions on American catch phrases?

 

[Buzz Rules]

So you think the creatures are real, but my TOTALLY RADICAL NORTH AMERICAN ROAD TRIP is fictional???

I want the trip to be real. But we need a lot of money to make it happen. I still buy a lottery ticket once a week, so maybe having the funds in the future won’t be impossible. I do think the creatures are real. I don’t know if they are dinosaurs though.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

Canadians, do you have any questions on American catch phrases?

What do you consider to be American catch phrases?

 

[ronandannette]

Canadians, do you have any questions on American catch phrases?

Here’s a Canadian one that Canadians from coast-to-coast instantly understand. Can you decode it?
“Boy, I really got hosed on that one.”

 

[Frozen Canuck]

Here’s a Canadian one that Canadians from coast-to-coast instantly understand. Can you decode it?
“Boy, I really got hosed on that one.”

Yes, I can understand that one, but I'm looking for American examples. I can't honestly think of a single one off the top of my head. Even Googling "American catch-phrases" there is not a single one that popped up that I wasn't familiar with when I lived in Canada, such as "piece of cake," "scoot over," or "behind the eight ball."

Canada, on the other hand, has a lot of terms that I think are uncommon in the US/rest of the world. (Not necessarily phrases...even the example you provided is not a phrase, simply a term.) As an example, my daughter and her boyfriend recently went to Canada together. One time, he came out of a public bathroom and said, "What's a loonie?" She explained it to him, but didn't (initially) ask why he needed to know. She finally asked him and he said that when he was in the bathroom, there was a sign that said to use a pump of sanitizer equal in size to a loonie.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

Here’s a Canadian one that Canadians from coast-to-coast instantly understand. Can you decode it?
“Boy, I really got hosed on that one.”

Okay, ignore my above response! I thought I was replying to Buzz! I need to pay closer attention.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

Pop quiz time!

Prove How Well You Know Canadian Slang!

 

[prairie_girl]

This applies to all of Canada, not just Vancouver

 

[Moliphino]

Yes, I can understand that one, but I'm looking for American examples. I can't honestly think of a single one off the top of my head. Even Googling "American catch-phrases" there is not a single one that popped up that I wasn't familiar with when I lived in Canada, such as "piece of cake," "scoot over," or "behind the eight ball."

Canada, on the other hand, has a lot of terms that I think are uncommon in the US/rest of the world. (Not necessarily phrases...even the example you provided is not a phrase, simply a term.) As an example, my daughter and her boyfriend recently went to Canada together. One time, he came out of a public bathroom and said, "What's a loonie?" She explained it to him, but didn't (initially) ask why he needed to know. She finally asked him and he said that when he was in the bathroom, there was a sign that said to use a pump of sanitizer equal in size to a loonie.

View attachment 732866

There's a ton of baseball references in American English that might not be as common in Canada (though probably more familiar in Canada than the UK/Aus/etc.).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_English-language_idioms_derived_from_baseball

 

[Frozen Canuck]

There's a ton of baseball references in American English that might not be as common in Canada (though probably more familiar in Canada than the UK/Aus/etc.).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_English-language_idioms_derived_from_baseball

I am familiar with pretty much all of those and I don't even follow baseball. We do have baseball in Canada.

 

[Moliphino]

I am familiar with pretty much all of those and I don't even follow baseball. We do have baseball in Canada.

I know, but it's not as popular in Canada as in the US.

 

[SirDuff]

I know, but it's not as popular in Canada as in the US.

I had a quick look, to be fair, but I didn't see any in that list that I heard more when I lived in the US than when I lived in Canada.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

I know, but it's not as popular in Canada as in the US.

What are you basing this on? The fact that we only have one professional league team? I would say that baseball is popular across Canada. I grew up playing baseball on the weekends in our town. Baseball was played in schools. People watch baseball on TV.

 

[RedAngie]

Any Canadians ever hear of this?



Did any Americans hear of it?

 

[Frozen Canuck]

Any Canadians ever hear of this?

View attachment 732888

Did any Americans hear of it?

View attachment 732889

Nope. I'm in the dark on that one. Ha!

 

[Moliphino]

What are you basing this on? The fact that we only have one professional league team? I would say that baseball is popular across Canada. I grew up playing baseball on the weekends in our town. Baseball was played in schools. People watch baseball on TV.

That still doesn't mean it's as popular in Canada as it is in the US, though. I never said it was unheard of in Canada and did say that Canadians would get baseball references better than other English speaking countries.

I only mentioned it because I saw an article recently where a person hadn't realized just how many baseball references were common in American English because they've become so ingrained.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

This applies to all of Canada, not just Vancouver


View attachment 732877

That's also used for the Midwest (and I'm sure other places as for your example California is crossed out)

I remember having to explain to a poster one time when I said "Yeah No" and they were confused what I was saying come to think of it I actually believe that poster was Canadian which is weird I guess given your above meme.

Ope is also a Midwestern.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

That still doesn't mean it's as popular in Canada as it is in the US, though.

Well, that is true to a certain extent, but it doesn't even rank in the top three sports for popularity in the US, so past that, you are just splitting hairs.

Supposedly, the top sports in the US based on viewership are:

1. football
2. basketball
3. soccer
4. baseball
5. hockey
[source]

The Canadian results seem to vary, depending upon what site you look at, as when you search for popular sports in Canada, you tend to get a lot of results for the sports people like to play, like golf, not what they are watching.

In Canada, they are listed as:

1. Ice Hockey
2. Lacrosse
3. Football (I think this is referring to soccer)
4. Baseball
5. Canadian football
[source]

 

[Buzz Rules]

Well, that is true to a certain extent, but it doesn't even rank in the top three sports for popularity in the US, so past that, you are just splitting hairs.

Supposedly, the top sports in the US based on viewership are:

1. football
2. basketball
3. soccer
4. baseball
5. hockey
[source]

The Canadian results seem to vary, depending upon what site you look at, as when you search for popular sports in Canada, you tend to get a lot of results for the sports people like to play, like golf, not what they are watching.

In Canada, they are listed as:

1. Ice Hockey
2. Lacrosse
3. Football (I think this is referring to soccer)
4. Baseball
5. Canadian football
[source]

Soccer has moved to number 3 in the USA? Yeah, I’ll take that.

 

[ronandannette]

This applies to all of Canada, not just Vancouver


View attachment 732877

I absolutely ADORE this!! No, Yeah and Yeah, no are almost as ubiquitous here as "eh". We ALL say them and we ALL completely understand what is meant. My absolute favorite is No, yeah, no.

What are you basing this on? The fact that we only have one professional league team? I would say that baseball is popular across Canada. I grew up playing baseball on the weekends in our town. Baseball was played in schools. People watch baseball on TV.

In some ways our fandoms are even more intense than anywhere in the States because the BlueJays and the Raptors are Canada's Team(s), not just inter-city or state rivalries. Our entire nation supports them and they are beloved! And practically all of us, coast-to-coast played at least a little bit of both baseball (softball, slow-pitch) and basketball in our youth, through school or the communities, so at least we understand the games.