Mike
Most Americans, at least when I was in college, will claim to be Canadian when overseas. American tourists have gotten such a bad reputation for awful behavior, it was just easier to say.
Maybe times have changed since then, but there is no claiming to be Canadian in Canada. They can spot us instantly, apparently.
This reddit thread explains how Canadians can spot an American.
1.
An American will have no idea what Kraft Dinner is if you ask them.
2.
Even for Americans who live relatively close to our border — there’s a noticeably different accent. There are also specific words such as ‘restroom’ that give them away.
3.
If someone orders a Bloody Mary instead of a Caesar.
4.
When someone says a uni student ‘goes to college’ and is a ‘freshman/sophomore/junior/senior.’
5.
They don’t carry any protection against the Great Canadian House Hippos.
– Sbrimer
6.
They don’t have a dogsled.
– gortwogg
7.
When they say ‘eh’ as a strange way to connect with us.
8.
When my American friend was visiting us in Montreal he was constantly calling our money ‘monopoly money’. That certainly outed him as an American.
– CT-96
9.
They pronounce the ‘T’s’ when they say Toronto.
10.
I have always found Americans to be great hosts but shitty guests.
11.
I once heard a guy ask for his coffee with ‘two cream, two sugar’.
12.
Wearing college or university t-shirts, even if they graduated decades ago.
13.
They ask for disco fries instead of poutine.
14.
They wear their outdoor shoes indoors. Few Canadians do that; nearly everyone takes their outdoor shoes off at the door.
15.
It’s always their driving, I don’t think I can even explain it other than they drive like they own the road.
16.
They say Soda.
– meg-kil
17.
Asking for the cheque instead of the bill is a dead giveaway!
18.
I dated a guy from California once and he looked at me like I was insane when I said I was leaving my car in the parkade. He had no idea what it meant at all, haha.
– jazzani
19.
I cannot spot every American I meet, but there is a certain brand of middle-aged American I can always recognize that wears only activewear no matter the context, tips 30%, talks really loudly, and is super friendly to strangers — going as far as stopping strangers on the street to ask how it is to live here, because ‘it is just so European’.
20.
I had an American sales rep visit and take me out for lunch. He ordered an iced tea, put 4 packs of sweetener in it, took a sip, made a face and sighed, ‘I always forget that you only serve sweet tea here.’
– jleahul
21.
My personal experience has been that they are usually quite a bit louder when they speak then your average Canadian.
h/t: Buzzfeed