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dairy
DCHP-2 (Jun 2016)
Spelling variants:corner dairy, dairy store, dairy shop, dairy mart
Non-Canadianism
This is a word that our editors have determined is not a Canadianism.
n.
a corner store that sells dairy products and groceries; a convenience store.
The term dairy or corner dairy is another term for a corner store or a convenience store. This term appears to be most frequent in New Zealand (see Chart 1). It is defined in the DNE, s.v. "dairy" (3a), as "a small, mixed-grocery store (orig. selling, then licensed to sell, milk and eggs and dairy products, and other perishables, after normal trading hours"; the earliest attestation of that meaning in the DNE is 1908. COD-2 labels dairy as a regional Cape Breton term, but we find no evidence to support this claim.
See COD-2, s.v. "dairy" (5), which is marked "Cdn (Cape Breton)".
See COD-2, s.v. "dairy" (5), which is marked "Cdn (Cape Breton)".
Quotations
1896
Eight years' experience as a farmer striving to produce the best eggs and best cream, and to market them in the most profitable way, together with nearly a year's experience in running a dairy store in St. John city, has led me to believe that for years to come the home market will be a good one for every farmer who produces the best and puts it on the market at the right season.
1983
A man charged with shooting another man during a break-in at a dairy store is receiving a flood of support, a woman who has collected several hundred names on a petition to have the charges dropped says.
"People are coming from all over to sign the petition," said Cathy Bearss. "We want to show Rob that his neighbors are supporting him."
Robert Putnam, 23, was arrested last week and charged with possession of a dangerous weapon and careless use of a firearm following the incident at Shaw's Dairy Store in Springfield, which is managed by Mr. Putnam's wife, Nancy, and owned by her father.
1986
Charges laid in corner-store shooting
...
Police said one of the three was shot as he ran from Shaw's Dairy Store, less than 100 metres from the home of Robert and Nancy Putnam.
2001
Traffic is sleepy in Chelsea. If most of its 6,500 residents work in Hull or Ottawa, they don't leave the community in droves. On Monday, I leave at 8 a.m., driving past corner dairies, country shops, churches and galleries. The drive along Highway 5, between snowy fields and woods, is easy -- almost pleasant.
2005
But it is the Westboro Dairy that keeps my attention. It speaks of the day when Ottawa had family-owned dairy businesses, just as it had family-owned department stores. One of my Nepean High School classmates was nicknamed "Milky" in honour of the family trade. I have a vague recollection of having an ice-cream cone from that corner dairy, but surely I am not that old.
References
- COD-2
- DNE
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