While Canada is sometimes jokingly referred to as the 51st state due to its similarities and proximity to the United States, there are a surprising number of terms and expressions used in the Great White North that leave most Americans stumped.

Here, for your reading pleasure, are a few “Canadianisms.”

  1. A Molson muscle means a beer belly. It’s named after the Canadian beer brand Molson.
  2. Since beer is such a big part of Canadian culture, here’s more: a two-four is a case of 24 bottles or cans of beer. You buy it at the Beer Store (except in Quebec, where beer is sold in grocery stores and corner stores).
  3. A Canuck is another term used to refer to a Canadian.
  4. In Canada, you can measure travelled distances in klicks – a.k.a. kilometres.
  5. If you’re not Canadian, you probably would never guess that the word “loonie” actually refers to currency. A loonie is a one-dollar coin and is so named because it features a loon on its reverse side. A two-dollar coin is called a “toonie.”
  6. A Canadian kid going back to school will often get a new knapsack and runners – backpack and running shoes. And when it gets cold enough outside, children and adults start wearing their tuques (tight-fitting knitted hat).
  7. You can find Canadians eating poutine (fries smothered in gravy and curd cheese), chocolate bars (candy bars) and timbits (donut holes from Tim Hortons) and drinking a double-double (coffee with two milks and two sugars) or a can of pop (soft drink).
  8. Speaking of milk, in Canada it comes in bags, not just jugs and cartons. One 4-litre pouch contains three bags of milk.

There you have it! Your very own list of Canadian expressions. Pretty neat, eh?!