Manitoba, eh?!

Tell us about 'slanguage' that we might hear in Manitoba
& in other places in Canada.

Please send your corrections/additions to paul-armstrong@shaw.ca

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under 'Viewers' Comments" or in the corrected text.

-- I did not compose the following text, but I did make additions & changes. --
"Last night, I cashed my pogey1, and went to buy a mickey2 of C.C.3 at the L.C.4

Then, I smashed my car on the way to the beer parlour5. I was trying to deke out6 a deer.

Later that night, a Mountie7 snuck up 8 behind me in a ghost cruiser9 and gave me an 'impaired'10.

What could I say, except, 'Sorry, I was on my way to a social11, eh12?!'"

The next morning, we went fishing and caught a jack13. Man, that made for a great scarf14, you know15?!.

Then, for lunch, we hit16 the Sal's17 and ordered a nip18.

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1 -- pogey: EI (Employment insurance). Money provided by the government for not working.

2 -- mickey: a small bottle of booze (13 oz) -- [A Texas mickey, on the other hand, is a ridiculously big bottle of booze, which, despite the name, is still a Canadianism through and through.]

3 -- C.C.: Canadian Club, a brand of rye whisky. Not to be confused with 'hockey stick,' another kind of Canadian club.

4 -- L.C.: Liquor Control Commission store [booze, except beer & wine, sold only through these outlets].

5 -- beer parlour: a large room [often in a hotel]where only beer is consumed. Years ago, was frequented only by men & male waiters

6 -- deke out: used as a verb, it means "to fool an opponent through skillful misdirection." As a noun, it is used most often in exclamatory constructions, such as: "Whadda deke!" [Whadda means 'what a']

7 -- Mountie: Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman [now, rarely mounted while on duty], Canadian icon, strong of jaw, red of coat, pure of heart. Always gets his/her man!

8 -- snuck up: to have sneaked; to move, past tense, in a sneaky manner; non-restrictive extended semi-gerundial form of "did sneak."

9 -- ghost cruiser: an unmarked police car

10 -- impaired: a charge of drunk driving. Used both as a noun and as an adjective.

11 -- social: a money-raising venture for an engaged couple or as a fund-raiser. Folks gather at a hall to imbibe [usually beer or rye, a.k.a. rye whiskey], dance [sometimes, Ukrainian music], & attempt to talk while the loud music blares. The host is expected to serve kielbasa (aka kubassa, kulbassa0[slightly-chewy garlic sausage], dill pickles, cheddar cheese, & usually Winnipeg-style rye bread [non-alcoholic].

12 -- eh?!: famous Canadianism meaning something similar to 'Do you understand?!' [in French -- '...n'est-ce pas?']

13. -- jack: a fish also known as a 'northern pike'

14. -- scarf: a meal, sometimes used as a verb

15. -- you know?!: often used interchangeably with 'eh?!'

16. -- hit: arrived at

17. -- Sal's: the Salisbury's House, a fast food restaurant that originated in Winnipeg

18. -- nip: a hamburger from the Sal's

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