Welcome to the Vancouver Lexicon. Its purpose is to pin down the patois of the City of Vancouver by recording its toponyms, nicknames, slang terms, personalities, places, and other Van-centric things. Full A-Z here.

Cheechako | slang, Chinook | Archaic local slang for any person newly arrived to BC or the Yukon. It was derived during the Gold Rush-era from the Chinook jargon words for “new” (chee) and “come” (chako). Though rarely heard today in BC’s urban areas, cheechako remains in use in smaller communities, especially in the north of the province. It can still be frequently heard in the Yukon and especially in Alaska, where the term is commonly applied (often with some prejudicial snarl) to anyone fresh from the lower 48 American states.

Usage: “This cheechako doesn’t know the difference between the West End, West Van and the West Side yet…”