[Sheila53]

So, where did that "eh?" stuff come from. Being from Seattle, I traveled to B.C. a lot, and never heard anybody say "eh."

Who wants to join me in a rousing chorus of "Oh, Canada?"

[Burgie]

So what is Canada Day?

[fitbyforty]

The eh came from Americans making fun of Canadians.We don't talk that way and never did.
Canada day is the equivalent to your 4th of July

[Burgie]

So you guys probably don't call each other 'hosers' either?

[fitbyforty]

No, we don't

[HOTHARMONY]

I depend where in Canada you are, I have heard a lot of eh's and hosers in Ontario

[Burgie]

That's the part I would want to vist!

[DishyFishy]

I have no idea what "hosers" are, but I hear "eh" a fair bit here in Edmonton.

[Ilene]

Yes, we Canadians say 'eh' all the time without even noticing. It's just our ''accent'' I've noticed that Americans say 'huh' instead of 'eh'... Every person has their own accent in the English language...

I'm going to find out where hosers comes from ... BRB...

[Jillegal]

First time I heard "Hosers" was watching Second City TV (Doug and Bob MacKenzie's "Great White North" sketches). As for "eh", I've been to every Province in Canada (still have to get to the territories) and I've only heard it in the Maritimes (by the way, it's rather charming, eh?)

[Stepping Out]

My understanding of where "hosers" came from is "hosehead" for stocking caps I used to live in Maine, and we had a lot of "hosers" My grandparents came to the US from New Brunswick, which makes me part Canadian (I guess ). Anyway, have a great holiday!

[famograham]

What are you talkin' aboot, eh!?
I sit arooond in my igloo all day fending off the polar bears.


Nobody fakes a Canadian *accent* better than a Canadian.
Ummm, I'm pretty sure I do say eh....but the rest....yup...comes from Americans making fun of us.

xoxo
Linda

[Jenaya]

We are cultured and refined and "eh" may slip out of some folks mouths on either side of the border. "Hoser" does come from the skits of Bob and Doug McKenzie - making light of ourselves for the benefit of humour. Kind of like Newhart with the "this is my brother Darryl and my other brother Darryl".

Yes, our July 1 is like your July 4, we just wanted to party first..snicker snicker! Yes, Linda, I am sure you are sitting in your igloo as we speak fighting off the polar bears. Here on the prairies, we are wrestling penguins, drinking a Canadian and eating - brace yourselves - beef !!

Hope all are enjoying a nice long weekend. Thanks for the Happy Canada Day..it is a fabulous place to live!

[Ilene]

It really amazes me that SOME Americans see us... A long, long time ago in my youth we went to CA in August, I had a tan and many people who got to know us wondered why we had tans because we live in Canada ''... doesn't it snow there ALL the time?''

[Jillegal]

Go ahead and mock us, we can take it!

You might be Canadian if...

You can repeat the entire Molson's Canadian 'The Rant'.

You know all the words to "If I had a million dollars" by The Barenaked Ladies (including the inter-stanza banter between Steven and Ed.)

You dismiss all beers under 6% as "for children and the elderly."

You hum David Foster's '88 Calgary Olympics theme in the shower.

You know that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) don't always look like that.

You cried when Gus "drowned" on Road To Avonlea.

You remember when Alanis Morrissette was "Too Hot To Hold".

You think it's normal to have a grain elevator in your backyard.

You watch MuchMusic constantly, in the hopes of occasional fleeting glimpses of The Tragically Hip.

You have an Inuit carving by your bedside with the rationale, "what's good enough protection for the Prime Minister, is good enough for me!"

You can sing "O' Canada" in French and actually know what the words mean.

You send angry letters to the CBC demanding the return of the Hinterland Who's Who spots so you can finally find out what happens to the arctic ptarmigan in winter.

You participate in Participaction!

You think Peter Mansbridge is sexy.

You think Great Big Sea isn't Maritime-centric enough.

Your backpack has more than one Canadian flag iron-on (and you always have room for more).

You know the names of all the guys in Sloan.

You have been on Speaker's Corner. Bonus points if they edited out your carefully prepared rant against the Martin government.

You know the French equivalents of "free", "prize" and "no sugar added", thanks to your extensive education in bilingual cereal packaging.

You think Ashley MacIssac isn't Celtic enough.

You can do the hand actions to Sharon, Lois and Bram's "Skin-a-marinki-dinki-do".

You can eat more than one maple sugar candy without feeling nauseous.

You had a crush on Joey Jeremiah from Degrassi Junior High.

You know that a "Premier" isn't a baby born a few months early.

You actually watch The Gemini Awards, The Genie Awards, and The Juno Awards.

You think -10 C is mild weather.

You have twins named Wayne and Gretzky (alternately Gordie and Howe).

You know the ingredients for poutine.

You know what happens in the Evergreen Forest when Bert Raccoon wakes up.

You dressed as Bruno Gerussi for Halloween. You spent hours sifting through garbage on the beach to prepare for the role.

You substitute beer for water when cooking.

You carry empty beer cans from your camping trips home with you in your backpack so you can recycle them when you reach civilization.

You know that the 'Extra Creamy' in Kraft Extra Creamy Dinner is 'add more milk.'

You brag about the sweet herb in BC.

You know the chorus of "The Log Driver's Waltz" and are particularly fond of the 'burling down and down' bit.

You steal stationery from your Government of Canada co-operative education placement because you figure you can find lots of uses for paper with 'Human Resources Development Canada/Développement des Ressources Humaines Canada' written at the top.

You recognize: CPP, RSP, and CCM.

You know what "Canuba" is. You think it's pretty damn funny.

Your gravy boat is shaped like the Bluenose.

You refuse to consume chocolate that doesn't come in either Smarties, Coffee Crisp, or Laura Secord format.

You die a little inside if you can't get your Tim's double-double every morning.

You know the difference between real snow and "television" snow -- the white stuff that passes for snow on tv and in films. You scream, "For Christsake! That should be sticking to their pants!" and "Lookit, it's not melting, eh! That's *so* not snow!" when watching 'Winter' scenes.

Someone accidently stepped on your foot. You apologize.

You stepped on someone's foot. You apologize, then apologize for making them apologize.

You know Casey and Finnegan are NOT a Celtic rock band or imported beer.

You know who Foster Hewitt is.

You pity people who haven't tasted a "beavertail".

Complete the phrase: "The good old ____ game is the best ____ you can ____."

You've got some rocks and you've got to leave an important message -- Lucky you know how to build an innukshuk!

You have at least one ROOTS sweatshirt.

You find it difficult to explain "milk in a bag" to non-Canadians, and even more difficult to describe the "snippy-thing" used on bag corners. (Bonus points if your collected snippy-things are stuck to your fridge.)

You're pretty sure you can see Alex Trebek smirking when Jeopardy contestants get the "Canada questions" wrong. Even if you weren't sure of the answer yourself, you consider yourself a hundred times smarter than the idiots who always guess, "What is .. uh, Toronto?"

Your Saturday nights in the Atlantic provinces include eating beans and brown bread as you watch Hockey Night in Canada.

Your local zoo is mainly flamingos, giraffes and sad elephants freezing their asses off against a backdrop of pine trees, grey skies, and precambrian shield formations. You wonder why squirrels and seagulls somehow manage to get in every zoo exhibit (including the parking lot and squirrel and seagull exhibits).

You live in a "beach town" and have to eat your brothers and sisters to stay alive during the winter months.

You don't consider a date truly romantic until you've slow danced to Blue Rodeo's "Five Days in May". You accept "Lost Together" as a second option.

You're not offended by the term "HOMO MILK"

You understand the phrase "Could you pass me a serviette, I just dropped my poutine on the chesterfield."

You eat chocolate bars, not candy bars.

You drink Pop, not Soda.

You know that a Mickey and 24's mean, "party at the camp, eh!!!"

You don't care about the fuss with Cuba. It's a cheap place to go for your holidays (not vacation), with good cigars and no Americans.

You know that a pike is a type of fish, not part of a highway

You drive on a highway, not a freeway

You have Canadian Tire money in your kitchen drawers.

You cried when you heard that "Mr Dress Up" died recently.

You brag to Americans: Shania Twain, Jim Carrey, Michael J. Fox & many, many more, are Canadians.

You know that the C.E.O. of American Airlines is a Canadian!

You know what a toque is.

You design your Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.

Your local newspaper covers the national news on 2 pages, but requires 6 pages for hockey.

You know that the four seasons means: winter, still winter, almost winter, and road work/construction.

You know how to pronounce and spell "Saskatchewan"

You are in grade 12, not the 12th grade.

You call it a BUN not a "Roll"

Its called a WASHROOM not a lavatory or powder room or rest room.

You've ever had your tongue frozen to something.

You know that in Canada the mosquitoes have landing lights.

You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.

You have 10 favorite recipes for moose meat.

You know that Canadian Tire on any Saturday is busier than the toy stores before Christmas.

Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled in with snow.

The most effective mosquito repellent is a shotgun.

You head south to go to your cottage.

You frequently clean grease off your barbeque so the bears won't prowl on your deck.

You know which leaves make for good toilet paper.

You find -40C a little chilly.

You can play road hockey on skates.

The municipality buys a Zamboni before a bus.

You wonder why there isn't a 5 dollar coin, as you can only use more change.

You have memorized the Heritage Foundation's Heritage Moments, including your favourites, "Burnt Toast!", "You know I canna read a word...",
"One day we have tar paper roof!" and "Kanata".

Your graduation formal dress was made of flannel.

You use a red pen on your non-Canadian textbooks and fill in the missing 'u's from labor, honor, and color.

You get excited whenever an American television show mentions Canada and you make a mental note to talk about it at work the next day.

You automatically read 'Z' as 'Zed' and don't give a damn that it doesn't rhyme with "now I know my abcs".

You are moved to tears by those Bell Canada phone commercials they show around Remembrance Day, where the grandson calls his granddad from Dieppe.

You stay up past midnight (the end of some television station broadcasting hours) to hear the Canadian national anthem.

You spit angrily when Americans say "ruff" instead of the correct "roof".

When abroad, you have a cold fear that somebody might mistake you for an American. You make a point of deliberately being kind to locals just to make it clear you are a Canadian.