''Hoser'' or ''hose-head'' is a slang term originating in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
that is used to reference or imitate
Canadians
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
.
The term "hoser", long used by certain groups of Canadians, is a comedic label given to someone that gained popularity and notoriety from the comedic skits by
Rick Moranis
Frederick Allan Moranis (; born April 18, 1953) is a Canadian actor, comedian, musician, songwriter, writer and producer. He appeared in the sketch comedy series ''Second City Television'' (''SCTV'') in the 1980s and several Hollywood (film indu ...
and
Dave Thomas Dave may refer to:
Film, television, and theater
* Dave (film), ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver
* Dave (musical), ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film
* Dave (TV channel), a digital ...
(playing the characters of
Bob and Doug McKenzie
Bob and Doug McKenzie are a pair of fictional Canadian brothers who hosted "Great White North", a Sketch comedy, sketch which was introduced on ''Second City Television, SCTV'' for the show's third season when it moved to CBC Television in 1980 ...
) in
''SCTV'''s "
The Great White North
Bob and Doug McKenzie are a pair of fictional Canadian brothers who hosted "Great White North", a sketch which was introduced on '' SCTV'' for the show's third season when it moved to CBC Television in 1980. Bob is played by Rick Moranis and ...
" segments. The characters also used the verb 'to hose' as a synonym for 'to swindle'.
Origins
The origin of the term is unclear. The ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
'' records the first use in writing as being a 1981 ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'' article about the McKenzie brothers, and there is no clear evidence that the term was in use before then. Nonetheless, the term has spawned several popular
false etymologies
A false etymology (fake etymology, popular etymology, etymythology, pseudo-etymology, or par(a)etymology) is a popular but false belief about the origin or derivation of a specific word. It is sometimes called a folk etymology, but this is also a ...
.
A popular origin story holds that in outdoor
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
before
ice resurfacer
An ice resurfacer is a vehicle or hand-pushed device used to clean and smooth the surface of a sheet of ice, usually in an ice rink. The first ice resurfacer was developed by American inventor and engineer Frank Zamboni in 1949 in the city of Pa ...
s, the losing team in a hockey game would have to hose down the rink after a game to make the ice smooth again. Thus the term ''hoser'' was synonymous with ''loser''.
Another suggestion for the origin of the term involves
farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...
s of the
Canadian Prairies
The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie Provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...
who would
siphon
A siphon (from grc, σίφων, síphōn, "pipe, tube", also spelled nonetymologically syphon) is any of a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. In a narrower sense, the word refers particularly to a tube in a ...
gasoline from farming vehicles with a hose during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
of the 1930s.
"Hosed" is also a euphemism for
drunkenness
Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main p ...
in Canadian English, and by extension a hoser is one who is drunk.
Another possible origin may stem from loggers' slang, where "hoosier" referred contemptuously to an untrained, inept, or slack worker.
[Elrick B Davis, "Paul Bunyan Talk," American Speech, Vol. 17, No. 4 (Dec., 1942), p. 222.]
The term ''hoser'' was used frequently on the U.S. sitcom ''
How I Met Your Mother
''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014, follows the main character, Ted Mosby, and his ...
'' in relation to main character
Robin Scherbatsky
Robin Charles Scherbatsky Jr. is a fictional character created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for the CBS television series ''How I Met Your Mother'', portrayed by Cobie Smulders.
Robin is the on and off love interest of Barney Stinson (Neil ...
, who was a native of Canada. She sometimes visited a Canadian-themed bar, Hoser Hut.
See also
*
Canadian slang
Canadian English (CanE, CE, en-CA) encompasses the Variety (linguistics), varieties of English language, English native to Canada. According to the 2016 Canadian Census, 2016 census, English was the first language of 19.4 million Canadians o ...
*
Eh
*
List of ethnic slurs
The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or oth ...
* ''
Strange Brew
''Strange Brew'' (also known as ''The Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie: Strange Brew'') is a 1983 Canadian comedy film starring the popular '' SCTV'' characters Bob and Doug McKenzie, portrayed by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis, who also served a ...
''
* ''
Yoga Hosers
''Yoga Hosers'' is a 2016 American comedy horror film written and directed by Kevin Smith. It is a spin-off of Smith's 2014 horror film ''Tusk'' and stars Smith's daughter Harley Quinn Smith, Lily-Rose Depp, and her father, Johnny Depp. The seco ...
''
References
{{Bob & Doug McKenzie
Bob and Doug McKenzie
Canadian slang
Stereotypes of white people
Pejorative terms for white people