Two years ago, we saw this ad from a health campaign aimed at preventing young people from smoking:
Magane pas tes organes
Don’t wreck your organs
The verb maganer is used in Québécois French in the sense of to wreck.
The campaign is still going, but the wording has changed. It now reads:
Magane pas tes organes avec la boucane
Don’t wreck your organs with smoke
We’ve got another Québécois usage in there now — la boucane. This word means smoke.
Magane, organes and boucane all rhyme.
maganer, to wreck, to ruin
magané, wrecked, ruined
la boucane, smoke
boucaner, to smoke, to give off smoke
Source: Y a rien de plus dégueu
(Gouvernement du Québec)
