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Scarberia
DCHP-2 (Oct 2016)
n. — slang, usually derogatory
a nickname for Scarborough, Ontario.
Type: 1. Origin — Scarberia is a blend of Scarborough and Siberia, suggesting the municipality's perceived distance from the Toronto city centre (see, e.g. the 1998 quotation). Often considered an architecturally uninspiring suburban area, Scarborough has been connected with the West's perceived bleakness of Siberia, which would semantically further motivate the blend. As Chart 1 shows, the term is virtually exclusive to Canada.
See also COD-2, s.v. "Scarberia", which is marked "Cdn."
See also COD-2, s.v. "Scarberia", which is marked "Cdn."
Quotations
1978
We could install a hot-line phone on the bike in case it's ever necessary to declare war on Least York or Scarberia.
1988
If you choose not to cover an event, then for many people the event ceases to exist and, consequently, one of the most significant cultural events in Scarborough becomes a non-event and the myth of "Scarberia" is perpetuated.
1998
Not much in Scarborough is admired other than the dramatic bluffs on Lake Ontario, which reminded the wife of Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe of her Yorkshire home. The rest of this eastern suburb is known disdainfully as "Scarberia."
2009
"If people don't have cars, it's going to give them options; they can get downtown, it's not going to be Scarberia any more," he says.
References
- COD-2
Images
