Does US have/Does Canada have...?

[N.Bailey]

What amazed me last time I shopped in Montana, is that the dollar stores actually have nothing over one dollar! I bought 27 items, and it was $27.00. And it was good stuff too! A pair of flipflops that I have had for 4 years! Hair dye! Toys! Clothes! Here, at the dollar stores, everything is over a dollar! Some are up to $20.00 items. Plus the 7% tax here in Alberta. I did see a new store going up the other day that said 'nothing over a dollar'-I will have to go in and see it to believe it!

We have many types of dollar stores here. Family Dollar, Dollar General, and Dollar Tree and a few in my area. The Dollar Tree is the only one that everything is a $1.00. The others are like yours there. Even in the Dollar Tree though, I've always had to pay 6% Pennsylvania sales tax. Montana must not have sales tax. Some states make citizens pay a higher state tax from their employment and no sales tax at all. I think that encourages people on their borders to spend their money in that state instead of their home state.

 

[bizybea]

This is so cool!
But it is 11:00 here, and I must get to bed.
Anxious to talk to you all in the morning, I will meet you here with my bowl of mini-wheats....(do you have those?)

Yes we have mini wheats here. It's 1 am here for me! Do you have Pop Tarts?

 

[Microcell]

It is so interesting looking at Sandy's responses, because being from Detroit and Ontario, we have alot of dialect similarities! When I moved here to Kansas City I got asked if I was from Canada because of all my oot and abooting!

As for the University question, College is a general term here. Our Universities are called that based on size and recognition of the Federal Government. I went to the University of Kansas, but I always look back on my college days.

 

[Microcell]

Yes we have mini wheats here. It's 1 am here for me! Do you have Pop Tarts?

I am so tired I got confused as to who is Canadian and who is American! I was going to say we have pop tarts here too! So Bizy if you ever come to Kansas city, you will find your pop tarts here in our Walmart!

 

[MerryPoppins]

Here's a question for you. What do you guys call what we call Canadian bacon? Do you just call it bacon? And if so, how do you distinguish between it and regular bacon?

 

[N.Bailey]

What do you call it a couch or a chesterfield or a sofa?
Are your mattress sizes twin, double, full, queen and king?
Stove, Oven or Range?
BBQ or Grill?

In my area, a sofa can be a sofa or a couch. Everything else can be either way. If you used the term Chesterfield though, you might get some strange looks.

Personally I use, twin or single, double and full interchangeably, queen and king and we also have California King (which isn't as wide, but it's longer - for taller people). I'd probably say stove for the cook top and oven for the oven. I don't think I use range at all, but would understand what someone meant if they used it. I'd say grill for the outdoor stove. BBQ to me is simply a sauce. LOL I have heard many use the term in reference to their grill though. More in this type context though, "let's fire up the BarBeeQ."

 

[bizybea]

I am so tired I got confused as to who is Canadian and who is American! I was going to say we have pop tarts here too! So Bizy if you ever come to Kansas city, you will find your pop tarts here in our Walmart!

Ha ha...I just went to KC for the first time last month! Nice BBQ there.

 

[N.Bailey]

\

That sounds like a great event! I haven't been out to Toronto and that whole area since I was a child so I'm really not familiar with it.


Does the US have boxing day sales? I heard you had some kind of Thanksgiving day sale instead.

I never heard of boxing day sales. We have a Black Friday sale and is suppose to be the best sale of the year. It's the Friday after Thanksgiving and kicks off the holiday shopping season. We also have huge sales Dec. 26th and you can get Xmas items at 50% or more off almost anywhere. This also starts the clearance markdowns for clothing and toys too.

 

[Microcell]

Ha ha...I just went to KC for the first time last month! Nice BBQ there.

Where did you go for BBQ? Did you have fun in our fair city?

N Bailey to your BBQ comment- all I can say is

Now you go wash your mouth out with soap!

 

[Sandy22]

It's 1:25 am here but I'm on vacation for the next two weeks so I'm not paying attention to the clock!

Yup - we have pop tarts.

In the US where do you buy alcoholic beverages? In Quebec, you can buy beer and wine at the corner store (mini-marts). Hard liquor you buy from a gov't-run store. In Ontario you have to buy all forms of beverages from the gov't-run store.

What's your smoking legislation like? For most of Canada, it's now illegal to smoke anywhere indoors including in bars.

 

[disneymom3]

Here's a question for you. What do you guys call what we call Canadian bacon? Do you just call it bacon? And if so, how do you distinguish between it and regular bacon?

Okay it is really late but this has me

Seriously, I have tears.....

Anyway, wanted to chime in on the dialect issues since I grew up in California but live in Minnesota now.

In MN we call it pop but when I order that in CA, my sisters correct me so the poor waiter or waitress knows what I am talking about--seriously, they look at me like I am speaking a foreign language.

We also call it a couch as they do in CA but there are times that I will call it a davenport because my sisters make fun of my accent with any words that have the oooo or ow sound in them. They get great fun out of saying, "Oh Julie, say shoe. Oh oh, how about boots and town. Yeah yeah, say that!" It is really rather annoying. And THEN I come back from CA and my kids tell me I talk funny!

The liquor thing will differ in states too. Here in Mn you can buy malt beverages like Mike's hard lemonade in grocery stores although that is anew development but any stronger stuff you have to buy in a liquor store. And you can't buy alcohol on Sunday at all. (Can't buy a car on Sunday here either.)

 

[N.Bailey]

I think so. I and most of my friends work around 37.5 hours per week (7.5 a day)

Does the US use the term university? I've always heard the term college to refer to what we call university.

I think when we speak of further education in casual conversation we use the term college. He's away at college. She starts college in the fall. The school's themselves though are universities. I guess it's the same there as here.

University of _______ (fill in the blank).

 

[Microcell]

In the US where do you buy alcoholic beverages? In Quebec, you can buy beer and wine at the corner store (mini-marts). Hard liquor you buy from a gov't-run store. In Ontario you have to buy all forms of beverages from the gov't-run store.

What's your smoking legislation like? For most of Canada, it's now illegal to smoke anywhere indoors including in bars.

So much differs by region or even state here. Both are state issues.

It is hard to smoke very many restaurants anymore, but they can have smoking sections in some cases, probably grandfathered in.

In Missouri you can get alcohol anywhere, grocery stores and beer at gas stations. We do have Liquor stores, but I don't see the point. I live near the Kansas State Line. In Kansas until recently you could only get basically watered down beer in grocery stores. They did always have liquor stores all over there, but no sales on Sunday in Kansas. Restrictions there are lightning a little.

 

[N.Bailey]

This is so cool!
But it is 11:00 here, and I must get to bed.
Anxious to talk to you all in the morning, I will meet you here with my bowl of mini-wheats....(do you have those?)

yup, the frosted kind too. My favorite! Nite

 

[bizybea]

Where did you go for BBQ? Did you have fun in our fair city?

N Bailey to your BBQ comment- all I can say is

Now you go wash your mouth out with soap!

We went to Jack Stacks. I had fun but didn't get to see much of the city. I was there with a group I'm in for school and our weekend was full of activities related to that. I would like to go back some day!

 

[Sandy22]

Here's a question for you. What do you guys call what we call Canadian bacon? Do you just call it bacon? And if so, how do you distinguish between it and regular bacon?

You know I'm not really sure...I'm a vegetarian!

Actually, I have seen it advertized here as Canadian bacon too.

Why do Americans fly their flag so much more than Canadians do? I see our Canadian flag on gov't offices and hotels but that's about it. I rarely see it on houses. That's something nice to see when I'm in the US.

 

[N.Bailey]

Here's a question for you. What do you guys call what we call Canadian bacon? Do you just call it bacon? And if so, how do you distinguish between it and regular bacon?

I know this was a question to a Canadian, but here in Pa, Canadian bacon is always round and very little fat on it. Is Canadian bacon round in Canada too? It's perfect for a bacon cheese burger.

 

[N.Bailey]

N Bailey to your BBQ comment- all I can say is

Now you go wash your mouth out with soap!

Okay, I guess I don't quite get what I said that offended you with my BBQ comment?

 

[bizybea]

You know I'm not really sure...I'm a vegetarian!

Actually, I have seen it advertized here as Canadian bacon too.

Why do Americans fly their flag so much more than Canadians do? I see our Canadian flag on gov't offices and hotels but that's about it. I rarely see it on houses. That's something nice to see when I'm in the US.

I think Americans are very patriotic. We love our country and want to show it. Just look at where I live, we are called Flag City, U.S.A. We have flags everywhere all the time! I love driving down Main Street and seeing all the flags.

 

[Albertan mom]

OK, I am back. Hubby is finishing a movie in the bedroom, so I have 15 more minutes!
In Alberta, all liquor must be bought in a liquor store. The only thing you can get in grocery stores or corner stores is 'nearbeer' (the stuff with under .5% alcohol)
You cannot smoke in restaurants in almost all of Alberta. You can only smoke in lounges, or restaurants that won't allow children in.
Yes, we have poptarts
I think it goes like this: bacon to us is the stuff in strips
Canadian Bacon is also called Back bacon, it is actually ham, sold in round small slices
Another intersting fact:US Mountain Dew has caffeine, canadian mountain dew doesn't.