G.H. Hadden's definitions

the Big O

Montreal slang for the Olympic Stadium, where the Expos baseball team and Allouettes football teams have played at various times. Also home to a large and extremely well done natural history museum. Now vacant, except for large expositions such as the Home Show. Charactorized on the Montreal skyline by the slanted concrete tower with a finicular railway running up to the top. aka: The Big Toilet Built for the 1976 Summer Olympics, but the tower was not finished until some time in the late 80's Meant to be the first stadium with a fully retractable roof, it was not fully functional until the early 90's, but the parachute and cable design proved too unreliable.

U2 will be performing at the Big O this evening.

We should've demolished the Big Toilet years ago, before it became the white elephant it is today. We're still paying for it, all these years later!

by G.H. Hadden May 3, 2005

Mat Night

1. n. West Island Montreal-- The night before Halloween when pranksters roam the streets, TP trees and egg houses. The name remains, but pranks have been down in recent years. Origin unknown.

I went out on Mat Night and egged that bastard Jean-Francois's gas guzzling SUV real good!

by G.H. Hadden May 4, 2005

Caribou

1 n. Alcoholic beverage native to Quebec, most often served at Carnival.

"Caribou, a feisty alcoholic beverage, was popularised ever since the first (Quebec City) carnival. The recipe is attributed to Ti-Père, a commerce that was first established on Ste-Thérèse Street in the lower city, then, more recently, in Old Quebec. Suffice to say a typical drink of caribou contains brandy, vodka, sherry and port... Wow!"

--Fron the offical Quebec Carnival web site.

I drank some Caribou at Carnival and got so blitzed I threw off all my clothes and rolled around in the snow with a hundred other shitfaced frenchmen! Then they poured maple syrupp all over me. What a time!

by G.H. Hadden May 5, 2005

Nickelodeon

A 1930's to 1950's (roughly)expression meaning a juke box, which was a machine usually located in diners or bars that played popular music singles on small 45 records. Most were large, streamlined, stylish speaker boxes with neon lighg bands and chrome. So called because of the company that made them, and the price of a song was a nickel.

Hey momma, lets fire up the ol' nickelodeon. I'm "In The Mood" (Popular song title of the time. Instumental "Big Band" song by Glen Miller.)

by G.H. Hadden May 3, 2005

GO train

GO (aka: Government of Ontario Transit) is the commuter agency responsible for some regional intercity bus lines and a Greater Toronto area commuter train service. Trains run from Oshawa, an eastern satilite city to as far as Hamilton, in the southwest corner of Lake Ontario.

I took the GO train this morning, and I'm still late for work!

by G.H. Hadden May 3, 2005

allophone

In Quebec, an allophone is someone whose first language or language of use is neither English nor French. The term is also sometimes used in other parts of Canada. It is formed from the Greek roots allos, meaning other, and phone, meaning sound or voice.

Compare the terms anglophone and francophone, which designate people whose first or adoptive languages are English and French, respectively.

One is said to be an allophone if he or she speaks neither french nor english at home with the family or "on the phone".

The number of allophones in Quebec has increased in recent years. Most are immigrants from Asia, Europe, and Africa.

by G.H. Hadden May 3, 2005