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.

Olympics, The | geography, sports | A word with two meanings in BC. In most Lower Mainland conversations, it is usually a reference to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, which Vancouver and Whistler famously co-hosted. On Vancouver Island, however, it is usually a reference to Washington State’s massive Olympic Mountains, which dramatically loom over the capital city of Victoria from across the Juan de Fuca Strait.

Usage: “To avoid all the crowds during the Olympics I went across the border and camped in the Olympics…”