MovieChat Forums > The Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie: Strange Brew (1983) Discussion > eh?

eh?

posted 20 years ago by arliss_33
72 replies | jump to latest

how many times does the word/saying "eh" said in this movie?

I don't know eh, maybe I should put subtitles on and count eh?

oh great, eh. I gotta watch the movie again to find out, eh. make a beauty drinkin game though, eh? Get serious hosed playin that one, no doubt, eh?

Every man has his own way to betray the Revolution, this is mine ~ Leonard Cohen

[–] movie_freak_1-1 20 years ago

stupid americans canadians dont say aboot and we dont say eh in every sentence so go eat a donut u stupid retarded americans go start another war

[–] arisbot_vn5800 20 years ago

You crazy Canadians! I love you guys.

---------------
Aris in the raw

[–] kmoneyhomedog 17 years ago

it's a comedy movie exploiting Canadian redneck stereotypes that was made by Canadians, it's like Americans getting offended when we make fun of our own rednecks, calm down.

[–] mongohuey 20 years ago

Oh sure you do you Canook!! Deny if you must we all know the truth!!!

[–] herbertanchovy 20 years ago

I thought canadians did say "aboot" as it was in the south park film. dont know about putting "hey" on the end of every sentence, I know south africans really do do this.

[–] 20 years ago

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[–] herbertanchovy 19 years ago

>I can assure you, we do not say "aboot."

fair enough, at which juncture I would like to point out that not all British people have bad teeth either,a seemingly common misconception stateside

[–] Fenrir-5 18 years ago

You're right. You say 'oat' and 'aboat'. I don't know where 'oot' and 'aboot' came from, just people mis-hearing.

And there's no need to get so damn defensive about it. People from Boston sah 'caaah' instead of car. People from Texas say y'all. It's just dialect.

And, for the 'stupid American' comment, at least we're smart enough to know that Canadians wrote, starred in, and directed this movie.

Now take off you hoser!

[–] dave2bock 18 years ago

actually, just like in the states, dialects and accents spring up all over the place in Canada. For the MOST part, nobody pronounces it "aboat".

Tip to all you Americans: If you're going to make fun of canadians, drop the dialect thing and make fun of how the only Canadians who pretend to hate Americans have never met any!

[–] herbertanchovy 19 years ago

what's he on aboot, eh?

[–] herbertanchovy 19 years ago

>stupid americans canadians dont say aboot and we dont say eh in every sentence so go eat a donut u stupid retarded americans go start another war

of course, technically speaking if you are canadian-or indeed mexican- you are american. america is a continent not a country. It is still amusing in the film though putting "eh" on the end of every sentence, even if it isnt true

[–] manxthunder 19 years ago

Don't overdo it with the ehs, eh? it just doesnt sound right. Try once every other sentence, eh?

[–] ThePaladin1 19 years ago

What a lot of people don't seem to get is that the mackenzie brothers were crated as a satire on the very things you guys are argueing about (And no, I don't pronounce it "aboot"). As a reaction to the network's insistance on "identifiable canadian content" Dave Thomas and Rick Morranis created the characters, playing on canadian stereotypes.

Yes, I have said "eh" once or twice but usually after a question not every sentance. Yes, I do enjoy beer and wear a touque in the winter but there are a lot of things I don't do.

Stereotpes are just that and don't really apply fully to anyone, accept that people and please, lighten up

[–] VooDoo_Cat 19 years ago

Americans, maybe stupid. Texans, no way. E really equals md sqared

[–] aardvark77 18 years ago

My math teacher used to try and tell me pi r squared, but I told him, pie are round, pie are round!

[–] ElizaDushkusGroomToBe 19 years ago

canadians dont say aboot and we dont say eh in every sentence

Canada's a large country. I think it's pretty interesting that you can guarantee that no groups of people in that country do that. Have you been everywhere in the country? Have you met everyone in Canada? If not then you can't say for sure that Canadians don't do that, because some might.

And there was one world with nothing but shrimp. I tired of it rather quickly. -Illyria

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] gplechuckIII 19 years ago

I think it's interestint that the canadian "eh" is in the exact opposite place as it is Pennsylvania. You see in Canada one says "Let's get a beer, eh."
While in PA we say "Eh, let's get a beer."

Pointless?

[–] VikiHockey19 19 years ago

Yet, the "eh's" in the movie made me want to go back to Canada...

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] Mug_Costanza 19 years ago

American's say 'Eh' all the time, they just put it at the beginning of the sentance. Like "eh! Shut up you face!" or they'll even use it as one whole sentance like the Fonz 'Ehhhhh!'

What the deuce!?

[–] EnRohbi 17 years ago

I live in Nova Scotia
I was born here, raised here, and for the most part haven't left the Atlantic Provinces.

I assure you I do not, and do not know a single person, who has ever say "Aboot" or any strange pronounciation of the sort (Except very ocasionally letting an "Aboat" slip... But it's more of a halfway between About and Aboat), unless they were mocking Canadian Stereotypes.

[–] DramaQueenKate 18 years ago

"stupid americans canadians dont say aboot and we dont say eh in every sentence so go eat a donut u stupid retarded americans go start another war"

wow, gotta love those Canadians! They're so nice!....and what great use of PUNCTUATION!!!

[–] Mistress_Of_Tha_Hatchet 17 years ago

Her name says it all. She is a drama queen. I'm Canadian and no not ALL of us say "aboot" but I have heard a lot of people that do. Now "Eh" on the other hand I hear VERY often. It is like you crazy Americans with the word "huh?" =P

[–] spine-ravaging 18 years ago

"so go eat a donut"

the funny thing is, there are more donut shps per capita in canada than anywhere else in the world.

[–] dave2bock 18 years ago

what's funny about that? it's purely delicious!

[–] kittens19 18 years ago

stupid americans canadians dont say aboot and we dont say eh in every sentence so go eat a donut u stupid retarded americans go start another war

- movie_freak_1-1

Haha, I wonder what kind of loser takes a such small, non-offensive joke so seriously. You must have some major self-esteem issues and no sense of humor.

By the way, you do realize that this movie was written by and acted out by Canadians, not Americans, eh? Bob and Doug McKenzie were in fact from a Canadian sketch from SCTV which was a Canadian TV show, that parodied what they (Canadians) thought were funny stereotypes about themselves. I think you need to calm down and suck down a few brews while you think about how retarded you sound throwing a hissy fit over a comedy movie, eh?

[–] devioustrevor 18 years ago

"stupid americans canadians dont say aboot and we dont say eh in every sentence so go eat a donut u stupid retarded americans go start another war"

Holy jeez, eh.

This movie was shot in Toronto and was Canadian produced you hoser. So why don't you take off, eh.

I'm Canadian and love this movie and think it hilarious.

[–] bard_fan 18 years ago

I lived in Canada for two years, and now live in Scotland.

Canadians pronounce 'about' more like 'a-boat', if you want to hear someone say 'aboot', come to Scotland where, in some places, people really do say it like that. But, I did travel a bit in Canada, and I never heard anyone say 'aboot'.

As for 'eh?' Yeah! They say it as much as Americans say 'huh?' at the end of their sentences!

P.S. HAPPY CANADA DAY for yesterday!!

"His reasons are as two grains of wheat hid in two bushels of chaff."

[–] bill_go 18 years ago

Take off, hoser.

[–] Oprah_Noodlemantra_8-1 17 years ago

Whoa, take it easy, eh?

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] KYJell-o 17 years ago

shut up, movie_freak, before you make us look bad!

I will admit though, I do say 'eh', alot.. But to all you American's, we laugh at you more than you laugh at us, if it helps any.. ;)

[–] jimgoebel1 17 years ago

Well, my mother in law is from Toronto, and she says 'Aboot', 'Mum', and 'Eh?'

[–] MackenzieMcKenzie 18 years ago

subtitles suck, they cut out all the 'eh's. Jeez, they're hosers, eh?

[–] Thor777 19 years ago

I go over the bridge to Windsor Casino at least once a month. I'd say about half the workers do say 'aboot'. Less then that say 'eh' at the end of sentences. However, almost all say 'dole-er' instead of 'dollar'. I even catch myself calling them 'dole-ers' when I go to the cage.
I love it in Canada. VERY friendly and well spoken people. Great beer, no taxes on gambling winnings and no one looks at me funny when I put vinegar & mayo on my french fries.
Thor

[–] themur59 19 years ago

I proudly say eh?, Aboot, and zed. I spell colour the right way with the U. I wake up every morning and down my timmy honos, I watch Lacrosse, Canada's true national sport, and hockey. I know that Canada really has only three seasons Winter, Near-Winter, and Construction. so I don't get why some Canadians here are getting all offended by statements that some Canadians say aboot, we pronounce it the correct way, its the Americans who have bastardized it, they have the accent. We have an accent to but it is similar to the British accent but we have the Americans to the south and their accent does creep into our life, but the aboot, eh?, and zed are of British origin and therefore not accents but correct pronunciation. Don’t you forget it.

[–] bbrianb33 19 years ago

Actually, there is no "correct" pronunciation of any of those words you said. The English language is constantly changing, and dialects from all over the world are recognized as "correct". Z is pronounced zed in certain parts of the world, but not all. It doesn't mean one way is correct and the other isn't. The language is evolving as we do, so learn to live with it.

[–] marillion1968 19 years ago

""stupid americans canadians dont say aboot and we dont say eh in every sentence so go eat a donut u stupid retarded americans go start another war""

Then why dont you go complain to the Canadians who directed, starred in, and wrote the movie. Plus did the same thing on albums. So don't blame us, look at your own hoser!

[–] DirtyGrainius 19 years ago

Actually, you couldn't be more wrong. It's english, not ebonics, and it was established long ago. Sure, it does evolve, but not in the case of spelling or pronunciation. Any changes , such as the american spelling of colour, color, are listed as american english, and not standard english. Just because alot of people bastardize an language, doesn't make it right or acceptable.

[–] violynn31 19 years ago

Some of you guys seriously need to get a life.

A. Why are people getting so offensive/defensive here? It's a movie. A terrific, hilarious movie, that as one poster put, a beauty drinking game. Nothing more.

2. I'm from WI, and while we don't share a border with Canada, we're not that far away or much warmer, and we have pretty obnoxious accents that are similar to Canadian. I'm tried eliminating the "eh" and "aboot" from my vocabulary except when I'm quoting this movie. Similar to "Fargo."

D. Get a life already!

[–] DirtyGrainius 19 years ago

Actually, I have a full life. It took maybe 3 minutes out of my life to read something, analyze it, break it down, point it out, while typing it. Maybe if I looked at life like an almost pregnant high-school prom queen that lives every second like it's her last, then I might think twice, grab some beer, get laid, get pregnant, really care about every blade of grass on the planet..... and then blow my head-off. But I don't, so my life isn't that short that 3 minutes is a big deal. Just in case your remark was directed this way. If if wasn't, then this is directed at the original poster I was responding to. Wow, thats like 2 messages in 3 minutes this time. I'm getting better at this!!Thanx.

"'Ero Cyan Dead 'Till De Last Reel"

[–] jimmeh 19 years ago

i liked fargo. it was probly due to teh accents hah

[–] Omnihil 18 years ago

Contraty to popular believe, English was in fact invented by the English, and guess what? It's pronounced 'zed' in England.

[–] Strangerasch 19 years ago

It's actually more like "aboat", which is of course closer to the British english. "Been" is another one I notice a lot.

CANADIAN: Where've you bean?
AMERICAN: I've bin to the store.

If we're saying the British accent is the correct way, than the Canadian accent is just ever-so-slightly closer to it than the American accent. (In most cases.)

Just a couple observations. I'm from northern Michigan, so I get a lot of both accents, my own being somewhat of a cross between the classic Midwestern US and classic Canadian accents. (We say "eh" too.)

But just as there are big differences between the Tennessee and New York accents, the Maritimers sound different than somebody from Vancouver. So in closing, not ALL Canadians speak exactly alike, eh?

[–] jimmeh 19 years ago

that is true. people from the maritimes have thier own very distinct accent. i'm from vancouver area and when i go south of the border i don;t notice a big difference in the way we talk. but people laways seem to know i am canadian? not sure why

[–] BryanEkers 19 years ago

Maybe it's your politeness.

Anyhoo... the Americans get generalized as well. When an American character shows up on a British TV show, played by a British actor, I find they tend to go for a genuinely hideous mock-Texas drawl.

[–] Dark Star 18 years ago

Strange Brew is a funny movie. You just have to look beyond the use of: eh?

[–] larr118 18 years ago

I have three friends from canada and they say eh all the time and they don't notice it. Of course, I picked it up. They don't say aboot all the time, though one of them says the word about like "a-boat" and another one actually said aboot one time (I almost pissed myself). They all introduced me to Canadian slang, words like hoser and knob. And one of them still calls McDonalds "Rotten Ronnies"

[–] midgetroom 18 years ago

Actually I always thought the Canadians pronounced it more like ab(uh)t as opposed to the American English ab(ow)t. And the eh is really just a replacement of the word huh at the end of a sentence. If you really think about it, eh sounds a lot better than huh. I'm from Buffalo and used to travel a lot to Hamilton. Friends there convinced me of the stupidity of the word huh. I've lived in Pittsburgh(now this is a place with accents to really make fun of) a couple years now and still use the word eh regularly. I was never able to convince the Canadians that they were technically Americans but oh well. Just one question: why does your milk come in a bag?

[–] Jes73 18 years ago

With all stereotypes, there usually seems to be a great deal of people who conform with a stereotype. Many Canadians (myself included)often do say "eh" and "aboot" without thinking about it. Just like there are Southern Americans who have slept with their cousin and have Toby Keith and Confederate flag tatoos, if nobody did it, they wouldn't think that. So grow up, get a life, and enjoy a humourous film, you hosers.

And Now For Something Completely Different

[–] aardvark77 18 years ago

Bag milk is an Ontario thing, out west we never see them-4 litre jugs and 1 and 2 litre cardboard cartons.

[–] Mistress_Of_Tha_Hatchet 17 years ago

We have it in bags and in cardboard cartons in Quebec.

[–] Snowmen_Have_Peepers 17 years ago

Some friends of mine from Michigan humorously referred to my bag of milk as a "bladder," so that's the term I like to use now.

And hey, bagged milk is nothing to be ashamed of. By virtue of living in Ontario, I have DOUBLE the options in milk serving receptacles that anyone else does. Oh yeah!

[–] sernteman 18 years ago

Oh my goodness I almost fell off my chair laughing at this question!!! That is so funny and I guess I never gave it much thought as I just figured most milk came in a bag. I'm not really sure why and I'm from Ontario! We can also get chocolate milk in bags. As for the guy who is dissing Americans for thinking we say aboot and eh all the time, I do say eh a lot but like other people I don't notice it. I believe the aboot comes from the eastern part of Canada. They have a distinct accent which I find hard to understand sometimes but at the same time very cool and unique. It would suck if everyone in Canada sounded the same and we didn't have certain sayings like eh to set us apart. I'm a proud Canadian eh!

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] herbertanchovy 18 years ago

We have an accent to but it is similar to the British accent but we have the Americans to the south and their accent does creep into our life, but the aboot, eh?, and zed are of British origin and therefore not accents but correct pronunciation.

are you sure? I am british, never heard anyone say "aboot", people say it like "abowt". what is commonplace over here is instead of putting "eh" on the end of a sentence, people say "you know?" as in "i went down the pub last night, you know?" this is more common in wales where I live, where people tend to turn every statement into a question-isnt it?

[–] DramaQueenKate 18 years ago

"Ok, eh? We'll start another war, eh? You Canadians are next on our list, eh?"

lol! heehee!

[–] bil_buntin89 18 years ago

I don't know, but I made the mistake of turning this movie into a drinking game once. Oh man, drunk 30 minutes into it. Try it, everytime you hear "Ay, knob, hoser, or take-off" take a drink. You won't be able to keep up.

[–] simonss-1 18 years ago

I was always told by my British friends that they can tell a Canadian from an American because we sound like an American trying to be British. That and we talk faster than them southern states.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] dave2bock 18 years ago

wow that makes us sound so sexy. rock on

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] kraig-ronning 18 years ago

Eric Benson of NAS, if this is you, you're a hoser eh? Take off!

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] twentyninemoons 17 years ago

I love everyone Man! Oh, and I say "Dude" all the time. It's a California thing.

[–] Reeler 17 years ago

This is a great thread! I loved the one about (aboot? aboat?) Canadians sounding like Americans trying to sound English. I met a woman from Canada the other day, but I thought she was from Minnesota. Probably just a Fargo imprint on my part. There's no such thing as sounding British, by the way. In broad terms, one is either English, Scots, Welsh or Irish (not meaning to offend the Cornish or anyone). I've always been curious as to how actors in the UK (that'll keep it simpler) try to sound American. What's wrong with 'American' being limited to citizens of the USA, anyway? What other country has 'of America' in it's name? I suppose the inclusionistas would call Chileans 'Americans' because they live in South America. I doubt the Chileans would like it. Well, intermission's almost over. Time to watch the rest of the movie (Walmart yesterday for $4.88).

Don't ask a dyin' man ta lie his soul inta Hell

[–] jefgg 12 years ago

Isn't "eh" Canadian for "huh"? I am an American. My mother and great aunt say huh all the time. It almost sounds like when singer James Brown used to say "ha" all the time.

[–] sernteman 12 years ago

I could almost liken our "eh" to a "ya know" type deal. I would say that we (Canadians, Canucks) use "eh" more at the end of a question. For example - "This Timmy's coffee is too *beep* hot eh? When we say "eh" we are basically asking for a response from someone. I'm not sure if this clears it up for anyone that's not Canadian but I tried. Canadians rule eh???