From ‘Rink Rats’ to ‘Bunny Hugs’

Prof. Sali Tagliamonte makes linguistics interesting.

Okay, I got a low score. I've been out of the country for 40 years, but shouldn't that be "keep practising" not "keep practicing"? Or, is Canada using American spelling in preparation for becoming the 51st state? It was interesting to see these expressions that have arisen in my absence.

Soaker! That expression was around a long time ago, at least 1957 onwards. Why do I remember the phrase? I lived on Westmount Park Road, off Royal York Road, in Toronto. I remember having to cross the creek behind the road to get to the street on the other side to walk to grade school. Sadly, my friends and I often got soakers when the creek was high, despite the log our fathers had laid across the water. The teachers were not pleased when we arrived with wet feet! No bus. No car rides because our families all had only one car for the father to drive to work.

My siblings and I (born between 1946 and 1961) used the word "soaker" when we were kids, growing up in Ancaster, Ontario, just outside Hamilton. I particularly remember my younger brothers, who had a propensity for getting soakers, and other school kids using the term.

I’m an alum of Erindale College, with a degree in Middle Eastern languages and literatures, but I live in the U.K. now. Much of my time was spent in the university's libraries -- Robarts in particular. I sure miss the days of my sojourn in "the land of the silver birch, home of the eagle!"

Comments from an elderly nomad:

- As far away as Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, teens have long enjoyed "bush parties."

- Common Alberta usage today: "ginch" for female underwear; "gonch" for male.

Misspent my youth in Scotland, Sudbury, Toronto, Winnipeg, Boston, Vancouver, Calgary, Crowsnest Pass and am now back in Toronto for good. Missed Atlantic Canada and Quebec; they're on my bucket list. I can communicate in English, French, German, Polish and Spanish with varying fluency. Language is the song of cultural essence -- so much more than mere words!

Thanks for an insightful read.

Great article and interesting research. "Bush party" is used in many rural communities in central Ontario, too, since at least the 1960s.

"Bunny hug" was in use prior to the 1980s. I was born in 1958, and we lived in Saskatchewan until 1973. In our home, a bunny hug was a hooded sweatshirt with pockets. Not sure where that name came from, but perhaps it was from the Eaton's catalogue.

“Soaker” was a commonly used expression in London, Ontario, in the 1960s.

My mother, who grew up in Manitoba during the 1930s and 40s, always referred to jelly-filled doughnuts as "jambusters" when we were kids in the 1960s and 70s. So, the term has been around much longer than 1994 when the newspapers picked it up!

We also used the term "soaker" a lot as kids in Ottawa in the 1960s, and my husband, also from Ottawa, has always used the term "gonch." "Bush parties" happen in the Ottawa area, too!

Thanks for a fun quiz.

“Joe job” was a common expression for temporary, often menial jobs in London, Ontario, in the 1970s.

“Bush party” has been used all over the country, at least since the 1970s, from southwestern Ontario to the southern interior of B.C.

On the Sunshine Coast in B.C. the term “zunga” is used for a rope swing into the water.

Great stuff. I knew 17 out of 20. My only comment is that "soaker" is older than you suggest. I grew up in Toronto and had soakers as a kid. I'm 80 years old.

A fabulous quiz! I passed. You have made us aware of the importance of linguistics and how much language acts like a grid on human life, connecting culture, history, sociology, geography and ethnology. I was particularly fascinated by "biffy" and "co-boss." (I studied Latin and French at Victoria College.)

Sailing near Killarney, Ontario, a long-time resident warned us to respect Lake Superior’s sudden storms: “Once we had one so violent that we had to double-reef 'er, but that wasn’t enough. We even had to thribble-reef 'er.”
Is that a Canadian term, or an antique one?

This was fun! I enjoyed the quiz, and learned some new expressions and their origins. It's nice to see Sali Tagliamonte and her team moving forward with the enthusiastic work undertaken by Katherine Barber, Editor of the Canadian edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, and her team of lexicographers. Thank you!

"Soaker" was commonly used among my elementary school friends in Scarborough in the late 1960s. Just hearing the word brings back that sensation of cold water seeping slowly into a boot!

If a British Columbian tells you to "throw it into the chuck," what are they saying? That would be another good question.

What fun! I expect there are lots more. Keep the game going.

As young kids growing up in 1960s in "Scarberia" (look it up) we talked of "soakers" all the time, whether it was on a school field or in the back woods. The game was to have one's rubber boots in the deep puddle with the water line just below the red or orange band at the top.

Thanks for this: a lot of fun -- and educational at the same time. I had my share of “soakers” in the 1950s

Loved the quiz! Some of these words I used growing up in Toronto and some I'd never heard. Canada is vast and we have wonderful ways of expressing our thoughts, actions and interactions with others. Let's all be proud of this!

The quiz was fun. Please publish more like this.

The expression "fill yer boots" is still used in the U.K. I heard it first from a recent immigrant from Wales.

In Cape Breton, if you are angry with someone, we often say we wanted to “puck” (punch) them.

Also, on the north side of Cape Breton, Victoria Day is called Hiking Day. I have had many friends who refer to the May long weekend as May 2-4, I think because many buy a 2-4 of beer (a case of 24) to drink over the weekend and because it usually falls close to May 24th.

We refer to the 50/50 draw at sporting events as the “even split.” That term does not cross the causeway!

Excellent quiz! I very much enjoyed it.

I have been an editor and writer for most of my professional life, after graduating from U of T with an Honours BA in English language and literature in 1967, and an MA in English in 1970. Among the books on my shelf is A Concise Dictionary of Canadianisms published in 1973 by Gage Educational Publishing and produced by the Lexicographical Centre for Canadian English, University of Victoria. This was an updated version of A Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles published by Gage in 1967, Canada's centennial year.

Perhaps U of T Magazine could include an article on this fascinating subject with a bit more depth in it?

My mother-in-law was born around 1905 and grew up on a farm in Lavender, Ontario. She used the expression “Tell me for why.”

We used “soaker” in Toronto in the 1940s

I don’t know the earliest use of “soaker” either, but as a five-year-old in Amherstview, Ontario (a subdivision a few miles west of Kingston at the time), in 1958, I experienced a number of them. A common winter experience was wading in shallow water in the typical black rubber boots with the orange ring around the top. We used the orange as a guide not to go too deep, but the ring was narrow and it was easy to misjudge. I recall vividly the resulting inrush of ice-cold water and calling out: “Auggh! I got a soaker!”

Prof Sali Tagliamonte is great. The biggest and most reliable repository of Canadian English words, expressions and phrases, however, hasn't been mentioned in this article.

Check out The Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles. The third edition is forthcoming this year, also in open access and new and improved (thanks to $91,000 of our tax money, thanks Canada).

Great quiz! I plan to send it to friends.

After taking the quiz, I felt a bit uncomfortable about one of the questions. The term “joe job" wasn't coined by Mike Myers. Its origin is likely in the demeaning way in which elites used to speak about skilled tradespeople. And here it is again, repeated, when our country is in dire need of more skilled tradespeople. Shame on those who don't express gratitude for the folks who built -- and continue to build -- our city.

@David Greisman

Both the Oxford English Dictionary and the Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles indicate that the term "joe job" surfaced in 1948 to describe menial or unrewarding work. In our research, we found no disparaging reference to skilled tradespeople. However, as Stefan Dollinger, the chief editor of the Dictionary of Canadianisms told us, it's easy to see how such negative connotations could arise. Just because we found no record of them in our research, doesn't mean they weren't there at one time.

Sandy Brown (BA 1960 Trinity) writes:

I loved this quiz (though I only got 11 correct answers)!

I also got soakers, in the late 1950s -- usually when the water came in over the top of my "overboots," another Canadianism, maybe? These boots were pulled on over your shoes and fastened at the side with a clip. The top was lined with fake fur, which did absolutely nothing to add any warmth! Another part of winter clothing was the "idiot strings" that attached your mitts to the collar of your coat via the sleeves.

Wow! Two questions about Thunder Bay, my hometown. (Yes, I answered them correctly!) As a retired geography teacher, I’ve always had an interest in the geography of language in Canada and recall giving quizzes similar to this to my students just for fun. Your quiz reminded me of a good example of a language difference I experienced when boarding with a Toronto family while attending York University (sorry, U of T came later). They asked what I liked to do in the summer and I replied, “Go to camp with my parents; they have one on a lake outside Thunder Bay.” The family was puzzled until I explained that a “camp” was a cottage.

In Timmins, Ontario, many young people go to a "pit party" after their graduation ceremonies and dinners. A pit party is essentially a bush party but set in an old mining or gravel pit. I know because I picked up my own kids as well as their friends at several over the years!

My husband, who grew up in Vancouver, mentioned the term "navijack," which I understand to be a kind of rock mix used for concrete. Growing up in Toronto, I had never heard the word. Fun and informative quiz.

I got a low score also, but have been below the border for 55 years. I thought New York and New England were going to secede and become the 11th and 12th provinces of Canada. Will try to keep practis/cing.

Interesting! I was born (in the mid-1980s) and raised in Toronto but failed the quiz. So many of these phrases I'd never even heard of. I did know the Toronto one though!

The term I grew up with for a hoodie, or bunny hug, was "kangaroo top."

Love this! Is there a little coffee table book? I hear so much American-ness in our language, especially in urban and suburban centres, a reminder of our distinct Canadian-ness is essential!

I can remember getting "soakers" when I was in public school in Toronto in the 1960s.

"Coboss" was "Cowboss" on farms in northeastern and southwestern Ontario. And "gotchies" was often shortened to "gotch." This is all great stuff to use in the Conversation Circles for Newcomers that I lead. I'd love another quiz on Canadian expressions. My favourite, from northeastern Ontario, is "hotter than a half-f*ed fox in a forest fire." I won't be using that one in the Conversation Circles!

My friends and I often got soakers walking to and from school in Scarborough in the winter in the 1940s

As a long-ago friend and collaborator of the late Katherine Barber (I was the Quebec English specialist for the first edition of the Canadian Oxford Dictionary), I would like to see her receive more acknowledgement by those continuing research in this field.

I learned "swamp donkey" from my time doing pharmacy work in Geraldton, Nipigon and Longlac, north of Lake Superior. It means a moose, of course.

Maureen Vandenberghe (MA 1983) writes:

I always enjoy the publications from U of T! One thing about Canadian words: while Canadians generally like their vowels (e.g., colour), that's not the case in their whisky (no e, or ice, please).

We called our cattle with "co-boss!" in Pickering Township in the 1960s. Pretty sure it came with my English ancestors in the 1800s. And we got soakers every time the water was deeper than our "rubbers!"

Thank you for the great work making this list.

I can tell you that I used "soaker" to describe a boot full of cold water long before 1987. My parents and I lived in a new settlement in London, Ontario, in 1947. There were no playgrounds save near schools, so we children roamed around the ploughed land where homes would soon be built. In spring, this was a region of deep cold puddles, which often overwhelmed the 12-inch boots that were meant to keep my feet dry. Many were the "soakers" I endured, and the word comes instantly to mind almost 80 years later, every time I get water inside footwear!

This was fun! Thank you. I remember getting "soakers" every spring after the sole of my galoshes would separate from the rest of the boot from the back.

That was fun! We used the term "soaker" as kid in Toronto back in the 1960s. I still use the term in the U.S. with my kids, starting when they were young.

This is so much fun. I only knew "shinny." I like the word "soaker" and I now have an expression for such occasions!