Posted 27/02/09 By Aaron Spitzer
There’s no question that Northerners are a distinct subculture. We’ve got our own worldview, our own art and music, our own style of dress. And every distinct subculture has a distinct lingo. I’ve begun compiling a dictionary of Northern lingo, but haven’t made it far. What follows is my very rudimentary lexicon of Northernisms.
Break-up:
The season, somewhere between spring and summer, when the ice goes out. This tends to be a period of immobility in the North: the ice-roads go out but the ferries aren’t in, and the lakes aren’t good for either winter travel (skiing, snowmobiling) or summer travel (canoeing, motorboating).
Break-up Boots:
In Alaska, knee-high rubber boots are sometimes called break-up boots, as they are most frequently worn during “break up” – the spring thaw when the ice on lakes and rivers breaks up. They can also be useful during the autumn “freeze up.” Check them out here.
Consensus Government:
The non-majoritarian parliamentary structure or the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, supposedly modelled on traditional aboriginal forms of governance where consensus, rather than divisiveness, is emphasized.
Freeze Up:
The time of year when lakes and rivers freeze – usually any time from October to December.
Gussuck:
In southwestern Alaska, everyone – Native and non-Native – uses or is at least familiar with the Yup’ik word for “white man,” gussuck. The word derives from “cossack,” for the Russians who were the first outsiders to penetrate southwest Alaska two centuries ago. In a similar vein, the familiar Inuktitut term for white people, “kabloona” (now often spelled “qallunaat”) is thought to derive from the term for “eyebrow,” in reference to the bushy Scottish brows of the Hudson Bay traders, who were the first whites that most Inuit met.
Honeybucket:
A non-flush toilet, usually lined with a “honeybag,” found in homes without running water. Fancy learning more about honeybuckets? Click here.
Ice road:
As it sounds, a road cleared in winter mostly over frozen lakes and rivers. Not to be confused with a “winter road,” which also exists exclusively in winter but passes predominantly over frozen land rather than water.
Idiot Strings:
Strings or cords affixing one’s mittens to one’s parka, so that one’s mittens don’t go missing – a potentially catastrophic situation in extremely cold weather.
Mal de Racquet:
An affliction caused by too much snowshoeing. No, seriously.
Overflow:
A phenomenon whereby liquid water flows up through or over the frozen surface of a lake or river. Since overflow exists even in the coldest conditions, and is often hidden under a layer of snow, it puts winter snowshoers, skiers, snowmobilers and mushers in great peril.
Square Tires:
A phenomena that occurs during extremely cold weather where vehicle-tires deflate slightly, lose elasticity, flatten on the bottom as the vehicle sits, and then provide a jarring ride when the vehicle is driven. The phrase has become an adjective: “Brrr! It’s a real square-tire day!”
Skookum:
An expression familiar in Alaska and the Yukon, used to express satisfaction (“Excellent! Skookum!”) or to deem something or somebody to be excellent, strong, or tough (“That sled-dog looks pretty skookum”). From an aboriginal word supposedly meaning “strong.”
Sealift:
In Arctic communities, the once- or several-times-per-summer sea-borne shipment of goods, from cars and building materials to non-perishable food and pop.
Sealift Closet:
A walk-in closet in Arctic households used to store the mass of non-perishable food and dry-goods that arrive annually on the “sea lift.”
Termination Dust:
The first dusting of snow on the mountains in late summer, signaling the termination of that season and the beginning of winter.
If you’ve got other ones, please email me.
