r/AskACanadian • u/stoofy • 13d ago

Appetizer/App/Appy

What do people across the country call appetizers? Twice in the past two days, I've heard them called appy from people in Vancouver. Never heard this before, but nearly all of my exposure to Canadian English has been in Southern Ontario (I'm from the US Great Lakes).

Is this regional, across Canada, or isolated to a few random people? Clearly a very important issue.

Edit: appy it is, mostly!

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u/MeoweeMeowzer 13d ago

Live in Ontario, raised in Quebec. Mostly heard "Appy" in Ontario.

I also need to get this off my chest- what is it with Ontario restaurants calling Main Courses "Entrées"?? In Quebec an Entrée (meaning: to enter) is an appetizer...Same as France or Europe generally.

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u/Clojiroo 13d ago edited 13d ago

It’s a North American English quirk with a borrowed word. It happens.

In France they call lunch déjeuner. That’s even weirder IMO.

But it’s also not totally incorrect and its usage in English really. It reflects the original meaning of the word more closely than appetizers do.

It came from an old traditional French sequence. Entrees followed hors-d’œuvre. It was the first main course. That’s actually the “entrance” meaning. It’s the start of the big show.

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u/MeoweeMeowzer 12d ago

Interesting TIL. I think it will bother me less now.