Skookum! UBC-led Dictionary of Canadianisms gets new edition for Canada Day
Its earliest use in what is now Canada was among men of Hawaiian descent who were conscripted onto whaling crews off the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic coasts of North America.
Article content
Article content
The sailors called themselves 'kanaka,' a word meaning human being, but it grew into a slur for people with darker skin — before gradually taking on its modern meaning to denote any Canadian, no slur intended.
Article content
Article content
'Canuck' is one of thousands of words in this vast country's vernacular that are explained in rigorous detail in the just-released third edition of the Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles.
Article content
Article content
Just in time for Canada Day, the technical rebuild of the dictionary has been made mobile-friendly and highly searchable for the first time.
Article content
Chief editor Stefan Dollinger, a professor in the department of English language and literatures at the University of British Columbia, says it's the first update since 2017 and only the second since its launch as a centennial project in 1967.
Article content
The bulk of the third edition remains the roughly 12,000 words, and 14,500 meanings, that were compiled for that first edition nearly 60 years ago. But language evolves, and Dollinger and associate editor Margery Fee have dug up 137 new examples of Canadianisms for the latest release.
Article content
Article content
One that isn't exactly new but has suddenly assumed a whole new meaning is 'elbows up.' Once a simple phrase for the rough style of play in Canadian hockey, it became a term for resistance against Trump and his talk of tariffs and annexation as recently as a few months ago.
Article content
Article content
Article content
Canada is a country of distant and distinct regions, so a typical Vancouverite might be stumped by many of the words and phrases.
Article content
Take 'booter,' which is a uniquely Manitoban term for a puddle-soaked foot. Or 'dooryard,' what a New Brunswick resident might call the front yard.
Article content
Dollinger, originally from Austria and thus someone who comes at this country's language with a 'fresh set of eyes,' says there are basically six types of Canadianisms:
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Three-legged mama polar bear toughs it out amid Arctic's brutal extremes in Churchill, Manitoba
The staff at Churchill Wild's Seal River Heritage Lodge have seen countless polar bears emerge from Hudson Bay's treacherous ice over the decades, but nothing prepared them for what walked ashore last week. A three-legged female polar bear, nicknamed Tripod, who has defied every survival rule in the Arctic, appeared at the remote ecolodge 60 kilometres north of Churchill with something that should have been impossible: a healthy cub trailing behind her. In a landscape where even healthy polar bears face brutal odds, Tripod's existence represents one of nature's most incredible comebacks. Tripod first showed up at Seal River in the fall of 2021 with part of her right hind leg missing, most likely the result of it getting crushed in Hudson Bay's shifting ice. Everyone figured she'd be dead by spring. The mortality rate of healthy young polar bears is around 50 per cent, never mind one with a missing hind leg. STEVE PRESSMAN PHOTO A blueberry-stained Tripod has defied survival expectations and now has a cub in tow. STEVE PRESSMAN PHOTO A blueberry-stained Tripod has defied survival expectations and now has a cub in tow. 'She's likely around seven years old now,' said Churchill Wild CEO Adam Pauls. 'When we first saw her in 2021 she had probably recently separated from her mother. She would have been around three at the time.' Tripod kept showing up. At Seal River. At Dymond Lake Ecolodge. Even in Churchill, where locals called her Hercules, though the lodge staff stick with Tripod. Mike Reimer, who co-founded Churchill Wild in 1993 with his wife Jeanne, has worked with polar bears since 1981. He's never seen anything like it. 'It's a phenomenally tough environment they're in already, even if they're healthy and have all four legs and all their teeth,' said Reimer. 'It's a brutally tough world. They live on a moving, mobile, erratic, unsafe ice pack, and they're constantly battling the elements, not to mention other bears and wolves. It's a miracle that she didn't become food for another bear because of her handicap. Bears will eat other bears if they get the chance. The minute they see a weakness, they attack.' 'It's a miracle that she didn't become food for another bear because of her handicap.'–Mike Reimer Polar bears need to haul 200- to 300-pound seals out of breathing holes on the sea ice using their hind legs and back muscles, exactly what Tripod can't do properly. And they need about one seal per week to maintain a healthy weight and thrive. 'Who knows what she caught out there,' Reimer said. 'But obviously she stayed healthy. And not only is it the challenge of finding food, it's the challenge of warding off other bears that are trying to scavenge the kill once she makes one.' Kathryn Cehrs, a veterinarian from California, visited Seal River in summer 2023. Tripod was walking so well it took Cehrs a while to figure out she was without part of her leg. 'It took me a bit to realize that she was missing a paw because she does use that other leg,' said Cehrs. 'I remember just being amazed by her because she survived that injury, the blood loss and infection, and she's still thriving to the point that she was at a really healthy body weight for that time of year.' Tyler Warkentin handles maintenance at Churchill Wild's lodges and was among the first to spot Tripod's return. QUENT PLETT PHOTO The polar bear known as Tripod was first spotted at Seal River, northwest of Churchill, in the fall of 2021 with part of her right hind leg missing, likely the result of it being crushed in Hudson Bay's shifting ice. QUENT PLETT PHOTO The polar bear known as Tripod was first spotted at Seal River, northwest of Churchill, in the fall of 2021 with part of her right hind leg missing, likely the result of it being crushed in Hudson Bay's shifting ice. 'Ben (Ben Lawrence, who co-manages the lodge with his partner Nicole Spinks) saw her coming off the ice,' said Warkentin. 'She was out on the point and she and her cub walked to within 20 feet of the lodge fence. We were all thrilled to see her, and then all of a sudden we saw that she had a cub and then we were really excited.' Wildlife photographer Steve Pressman of first captured images of Tripod in September 2023. 'It was amazing something like that could actually exist and be alive when you thought you would never see it again,' he said. 'And here she shows up with a baby.' Polar bears mate between March and May. On the western Hudson Bay coast they spend the summers on land, and the females then den in October as the males head back out onto the ice for winter hunting. The females give birth between November and January, and the tiny cubs stay in the den for the first few months. Mom then heads back out onto the sea ice with her cubs to hunt in March and April, before returning to land for the summer with her cubs, as Tripod recently did. Quent Plett has worked for the Reimer family for more than 40 years and now primarily guides film crews at the Churchill Wild ecolodges. 'I've never seen a three-legged bear before. And it's amazing that this bear seems to be doing well. It's not famished or thin. It looks healthy.'–Quinn Plett 'I've never seen a three-legged bear before,' said Plett. 'And it's amazing that this bear seems to be doing well. It's not famished or thin. It looks healthy. A female polar bear has to put on some pounds to make it through that fasting time and produce enough milk for its cub. And it's pretty cool that a three-legged bear can catch enough prey to do that.' Tripod's got bigger problems now. Male polar bears will kill cubs so the mother will mate again sooner, and wolf packs hunt newborn cubs. And the ice-free season is also generally longer than it used to be, which means more time facing those dangers on land. 'When we work with our wolves, and run the wolf safaris in February and March, we see the wolves hunting those cubs as they exit the den,' Reimer said. 'So she might well have to fight off a pack of wolves to get that cub safely out to the ice.' Even though attitude matters more than anatomy when it comes to defending cubs, how will Tripod be able to do it? 'The same way a four-legged bear would — with a lot of enthusiasm,' said Plett. 'Even if the female is half or even a third the male's size, if she's aggressive enough, the male will back off. If she's got enough zip in her, that goes a long way.' Wednesdays A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom. Reimer echoed the sentiment about maternal aggression: 'If they're threatened, if their cubs are threatened, they just turn berserkers. They go absolutely bananas on any bear that approaches. There's no vet coming to help them out if they get hurt. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there and you're just food. You weaken, you get injured and you're going to die. But based on her ability to hunt and survive with three legs, she's probably going to be a pretty fierce protector.' The Reimers, who co-founded Churchill Wild, pioneered polar bear walking safaris in 1993 when they took an abandoned whaling shack and turned it into Seal River Heritage Lodge. The company is now acknowledged worldwide as the leading provider of luxury polar bear walking tours and safaris out of permanent ecolodges on Canada's Hudson Bay coast. Their family history on the coast goes back more than 80 years and their properties have hosted more than 9,000 guests who wanted to see polar bears up close at ground level. The couple won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Tourism Industry Association of Canada in 2024. Churchill Wild now owns and operates three luxury ecolodges on the coast including Seal River Heritage Lodge, Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge and Dymond Lake Ecolodge, as well as their newest property, the Blueberry Inn in Churchill. Both Seal River Heritage Lodge and Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge were early members in the National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World collection when that program was operating. MICHAEL POLIZA PHOTO Seal River Heritage Lodge MICHAEL POLIZA PHOTO Seal River Heritage Lodge Their polar bear walking safaris run from July through November. Not surprisingly, many people don't realize they can see polar bears during the summer, when they're on land waiting for the ice to return. Churchill Wild also runs specialized safaris in February, March and December. 'We've been at it for over three decades with Churchill Wild,' said Reimer. 'Every year there's something exceptional. Even after all those experiences, we've had thousands of bear encounters, and we've observed polar bears in every season in every kind of situation, and we've never seen anything like this.' Tripod's appearance with her cub demonstrates every quality we want to see in ourselves. Grit, caring, courage and toughness. She illustrates what a mother's love can do against all odds. Her three-legged walk proves nature doesn't recognize the impossible. This isn't just about a polar bear who lived and overcame. It's about what drives mothers to turn weakness into strength, to prove that when the world says no, their love says yes.
Toronto Star
6 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Canada to take steps to protect vanishing North Atlantic right whales from ships
The Canadian government says it is taking steps this summer to protect a vanishing species of whale from lethal collisions with ships in its waters. The whale is the North Atlantic right whale, which numbers only about 370. The whales give birth off the southeastern U.S. in the winter and spring and migrate north to New England and Canada to feed.
Winnipeg Free Press
8 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Flight delays expected after bomb threat at Winnipeg airport
Mounties responded to the Winnipeg airport Thursday morning after an anonymous caller warned a bomb was on site — one of several threats that temporarily grounded flights at airports across Canada. Police stationed at the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport were made aware of the bomb threat at approximately 6:05 a.m., RCMP Sgt. Paul Manaigre said in an email. 'The phone call stated there was a bomb in the control tower. Officers conducted a physical search of the tower and no suspicious items were located,' he said. 'Based on my conversation with detachment at the airport, it appears the same calls were made to the other airports across the country. No motive or suspect that I can speak to right now.' Nav Canada said the early-morning threats affected Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver airports. It said employees at the airports are safe and there was a temporary ground stop. Thousands of Canadian travellers could see delays as a result. 'We are collaborating with authorities to address the situation and ensure the safety of all personnel and passengers,' the corporation, which provides air traffic control operations to Canadian airports, said in a statement on X. 'Following the evacuation of a number of our sites and subsequent threat assessment by authorities, service is gradually resuming at affected sites. Travellers are advised to check directly with their airline for the latest updates, as delays are expected.' The Winnipeg airport's website showed several flights departed up to two hours late Thursday morning, but it was unclear whether those delays were related to the bomb threat. The Free Press has reached out to the Winnipeg Airports Authority and Nav Canada for more information. More to come. Tyler SearleReporter Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press's city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic's creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler. Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
