Today’s political cartoons – August 17, 2024

13 Montreal slang terms that don’t make much sense outside the city

<img src="https://www.mtlblog.com/media-library/a-view-of-the-montreal-skyline-during-winter.jpg?id=56608044&width=1200&height=800&coordinates=22%2C0%2C23%2C0"/><br/><br/><p>Quebec has always been a battleground where English and French collide, but nowhere is the linguistic mashup more chaotic (and charming) than in Montreal. </p><p>As a city fueled by bilingualism and multiculturalism, it should come as no surprise that locals have cooked up a unique slang that often baffles outsiders.</p><p>Mostly derived from the local lingo of "franglais," these words and expressions mix English and French in ways that don't always make sense but somehow work — as long as you stay within city limits. </p><h3>All-dressed</h3><br/><p>All-dressed is a uniquely Montreal way of saying you want everything on your food. The term comes from the French "toute garnie," originally referring to a pizza loaded with pepperoni, cheese, mushrooms, and green peppers. </p><p>But Montrealers don't stop at pizza. Now, you'll hear it at fast food joints, too. Whether you're ordering a hot dog, poutine, burger, or even a bagel, asking for it all-dressed means you’ll get all the standard toppings without having to list them out.</p><h3>Trio</h3><br/><p>Speaking of fast food, if you wanted drinks and a side of fries with your meal, you would never order a "combo." You would instead ask for a trio.</p><p>While it's a logical term for a three-item bundle, many Montrealers get funny looks when trying to use it outside of Quebec.</p><h3>____ and a half</h3><br/><p>When talking about apartment sizes, Montrealers don't usually mention square footage. Instead, they use a numbering system that might sound strange to outsiders.</p><p>Here's how it works: each full room, like a bedroom, living room, or kitchen, counts as a whole number, while the bathroom is considered the half. So if your apartment has two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a bathroom, you're living in a four-and-a-half (4½).</p><p>But if your <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/montreal-cheap-apartments-rent" target="_blank">rent budget is under $1,000</a>, you'll likely be looking at a one-and-a-half.</p><h3>Bixi</h3><br/><p>Whether you love them or hate them, bike lanes are everywhere in Montreal — along with <a href="https://bixi.com/en/who-we-are/#:~:text=The%20BIXI%20network%20has%20more,%2DRoyal%20and%20Montr%C3%A9al%2DEst." target="_blank">over 900 pay-and-grab stations</a> for Bixi, the city's popular bike-sharing system.<br/></p><p>Bixi has become such a staple of Montreal life that its name has turned into a verb, as in <em>"I'll just Bixi there."</em></p><h3>Steamé / Toasté</h3><br><p>If you order a hot dog in Montreal, you're not just choosing between ketchup and mustard — you also have to decide how you want the bun.</p><p>Do you want it steamé (steamed), where the bun is soft and pillowy? Or toasté (toasted), where it's grilled to a slight crisp?<br/>This isn't just a small detail. It's a defining part of the Quebec casse-croûte experience.</p><p>In fact, the adjective for the bun's cooking method is often used as a noun:</p><p><em> "I'll have two steamies and one toasty please."</em></p><h3>Dépanneur / Dep</h3><br><p>People in Montreal don't go to the corner store or 7-Eleven. We hit up the dep.</p><p>Short for dépanneur (the Quebec term for corner store), the name <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/d%C3%A9panneur" target="_blank">comes from the French verb dépanner</a>, meaning "to help out of difficulty" or "to troubleshoot" — which is exactly what a dep does when you need to make a last-minute beer run or grab a late-night snack.</p><h3>Guichet</h3><br/><p>The term for an ATM in Quebec French is "guichet automatique."</p><p>As a result, both anglophones and francophones commonly refer to these money-dispensing machines as "guichets."</p><h3>Beh yeah!</h3><br/><p>"Beh yeah" is another Montreal-English expression that perfectly encapsulates the city's bilingualism. </p><p>It's basically a direct translation of the French "Ben ouais" (or just "ben"), which is a casual way of saying "well, yeah" or "duh."</p><p>You'll hear it in everyday conversations, often used to express mild agreement, sarcasm, or as a filler phrase. For example:</p><p><em>"Did you see that there's a snowstorm coming?"</em><em></em></p><p><em>"Beh yeah, it's Montreal in February."</em></p><h3>Open / Close the light</h3><br/><p>Many Montrealers don’t "turn off" their lights, they close them.</p><p>While it's more of a grammar error than an expression, it comes from a direct translation of the French "Ferme la lumière."</p><h3>Terrasse</h3><br/><p>Let's get one thing straight. Patios don't exist in Montreal. </p><p>If you're talking about the platform attached to the back of your apartment, that's a balcony. But if you mean an outdoor dining space at a restaurant, café, or bar, it's called a terrasse — not to be confused with an actual terrace.</p><p>In Montreal, "terrasse season" is basically a synonym for summer.</p><h3>On special</h3><br/><p>When grocery shopping, you might consult a store's flyer for discounted items. But in Montreal, those products aren't on sale — they’re "on special."</p><p>The phrase likely comes from the French "en spécial," and while it makes perfect sense to locals, it can sound a little off to outsiders.</p><h3>Me, I...</h3><br/><p>Montreal Italians are very familiar with this one. </p><p>Rather than beginning an anecdote or explanation with the typical first-person pronoun "I," many anglophones in Montreal will throw a "me" in front of it — just in case you forgot who they were talking about. </p><p>This quirk likely stems from a direct translation of "Moi, je", which is standard normal in Quebec French but sounds unnecessary in English. Montrealers use it all the time in casual speech such as:</p><p><em>"Me, I love when the Habs beat the Leafs."</em></p><h3>5-à-7</h3><br/><p>A "5-à-7" (pronounced cinq-à-sept) refers to the early evening happy hour, typically between 5 and 7 p.m., where people grab drinks, unwind after work, or socialize before heading to dinner. </p><p>While happy hour is common worldwide, this term is uniquely Québécois.</p></br></br><p><br/></p>