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Two months and 17,000 data points later, the blogger meticulously ranked each word both by how familiar it was to the Canadians, and how unfamiliar it was to the rest of the English-speaking world.

Ms. Sherred readily admits that the survey is not rigorously scientific, but what emerged was a surprising compilation of words that, while ubiquitous to Canadian tongues, are apparently foreign to the world beyond our borders.

Toque

Used by 100% of Canadians

Virtually every culture with both cold weather and access to sheep has some national variant of the knit cap. The Afghans have the pakol, the U.S. Coast Guard supplies its crews with “watch caps” and Canadians, for half the year, wear “toques.” But while this was the only word on the survey that obtained unanimous usage among the Canadians, a majority of the non-Canadians said they had never even heard of it.

Donair

Used by 71% of Canadians

This meat-heavy, Turkish dish was actually invented in Halifax, although it bears strong relation to what the rest of the world would call a “gyro,” a “doner kebab,” or a “shawarma.” Less than one fifth of the non-Canadians recognized the term.

Homo Milk

Used by 92% of Canadians

This giggle-inducing dairy product (milk with 3.25% fat) is exclusively called “whole milk” in both Britain and the United States, where the vast majority of respondents were completely unfamiliar with the Canadian term. “Homo,” of course, is largely known as a homosexual slur, but as it gradually loses favour in a post-gay marriage Canada, it’s quite possible the word soon be known exclusively for its dairy connotations.