Why maple leafs not leaves

As far back as the s there is evidence of it being used to represent aspects of Canadian culture. Actually, on closer inspection, the maple leaf was the symbol used by the th regiment as early as , and has been used in similar capacities over the next hundred years.

All of that is known to many Leafs fans, and some avid hockey fans in general. Well, the answer again lies in the fact that the team name was adopted directly from the Maple Leaf regiment. Let me explain with a very brief grammar lesson. But that is true of common nouns most, but not all — ie. Proper nouns, simply put, are nouns that are specific names of people, places and things.

So, Leaf from the regiment becomes Leafs. Everyone knows there is no such thing as "Canadien Soldiers". LeafsBlow Apr Christine1 Apr The Leafs will be back, and they'll tighten the slack. An our soldiers have names John, Patricck or Rick. And you ,"sir", are a little Back on topic. George1 May George, by "American wanna be" I think Myrna is referring to Americans that wish they were Canadians, not explicitly stated, but implied by the context. Clearly your poem is defending Canada.

The mapleleafs are a Canadian team. Leafsblow is clearly attacking both the mapleleafs, Canadians, and the Canadian military. While Canada is certainly in North America, Canadians rarely refer to themselves as Americans, at least, as far as I know. Now, I guess Leafsblow doesn't claim to be American, per se, but why would he want to be American? That doesn't even make sense. It means your poem is labelling him as one who is secretly envious of the very Canadians he is slamming, you know, sour grapes and all.

I truely wish I would have left that line out!!! Read it again, my dear. What I thought would be clear is that I am saying, he is a Canadian, you know the kind that looks south of the border for "everything that is good". Have you never known a Canadian to put down our army because it is not as huge as out neighbours to the south. The Canadian that looks at our army and compares it to the U. There are soooo many great things about both countries that anyone that is a citizen of either should be glad and proud.

At least that is my opinion! Astartes May Brad1 May Most Europeans would rather spend time with Canadians than Americans. You have to wear a maple leaf so that people don't give you the cold shoulder down the pub on account of the accent. A sabre tooth is not a kind of tooth, a low life is not a kind of life, the Maple Leafs are not kinds of leaves, etc.

Exocentric compounds are usually pluralized in the regular way - we say "lowlifes" and not "lowlives", "sabre tooths" and not "sabre teeth". And "Maple Leafs" not "Maple Leaves". John4 Jul Michael Cain quite true, whilst I like both Americans and Canadians Canadians being nicer, as they are less likely to kill you. Americans have taken to wearing maple leafs to avoid trouble, with people who can not distinguish between a government and its people, largely because the accents sound quite similar.

Mark2 Jul John, your explanation really piqued my interest at first, but being an English geek, I have to call you out on this. Chad1 Jan Why not? The meaning of "Maple Leafs" cannot be transparently guessed from its component parts. That's what an exocentric compound is. John4 Jan Matt2 May It goes back a long way, likely to aboriginal people who harvested maple sap every spring.

So they could have been the Toronto Maple Saps? I really can't say. Sure you can! Is this some kind of joke? Yes, Maria. Yes it is. Well, all right then. Patricks to the Maple Leafs when he bought the team in ' He had a lot of patriotic pride. Yes, but why Leafs? He was in World War I.

Canadian soldiers wore Maple Leaf armbands. I suppose he thought calling them the Leaves would diminish the symbolism.