# Hoser

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{{Short description|Canadian slang term}}
{{other uses}}
{{distinguish|Hose}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=July 2016}}
'''''Hoser''''' or '''''hose-head''''' is a slang term originating in [Canada](/source/Canada) that is used to reference or imitate [Canadians](/source/Canadians).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/toronto00rawl|url-access=registration|quote=Hoser Canadian slang.|title=Toronto|first1=Charles |last1=Rawlings-Way|first2= Natalie |last2=Karneef|page=[https://archive.org/details/toronto00rawl/page/20 20]|publisher=Lonely Planet Publications|year=2007|isbn=978-1-74059-835-4 |access-date=2010-12-22}}</ref>

The term "hoser" is a comedic label given to someone that gained popularity and notoriety from the comedic skits by [Rick Moranis](/source/Rick_Moranis) and [Dave Thomas](/source/Dave_Thomas_(actor)) (playing the characters of [Bob and Doug McKenzie](/source/Bob_and_Doug_McKenzie)) in [''SCTV''](/source/Second_City_Television)'s "[The Great White North](/source/List_of_Bob_and_Doug_McKenzie_appearances_on_SCTV)" segments.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g80P_4v4QbIC&pg=PA249 |title=The New Hacker's Dictionary|first=Eric S.|last=Raymond|page=249|publisher=MIT Press|year=1999|edition=3rd|isbn=0-262-18178-9|access-date=2010-12-22}}</ref> The characters also used the verb 'to hose' as a synonym for 'to swindle'.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNRlcjz3acU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/pNRlcjz3acU |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|title=Great White North: Mouse in a Bottle|work=SCTV|date=11 February 2010 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Origins==
The origin of the term is unclear. The ''[Oxford English Dictionary](/source/Oxford_English_Dictionary)'' records the first use in writing as being a 1981 ''[Toronto Star](/source/Toronto_Star)'' 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](/source/false_etymology).<ref name="mentalfloss">{{cite web|title=Where Does the Word "Hoser" Come From?|url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/51399/where-does-word-hoser-come|author=Sean Hutchinson|publisher=[Mental Floss](/source/Mental_Floss)|date=July 1, 2013|access-date=December 2, 2013|archive-date=August 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817152145/https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/51399/where-does-word-hoser-come|url-status=live}}</ref>

* A popular origin story holds that in outdoor [ice hockey](/source/ice_hockey) before [ice resurfacer](/source/ice_resurfacer)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''.<ref name="mentalfloss"/> 
* Another suggestion for the origin of the term involves [farmer](/source/farmer)s of the [Canadian Prairies](/source/Canadian_Prairies) who would [siphon](/source/siphon) gasoline from farming vehicles with a hose during the [Great Depression](/source/Great_Depression) of the 1930s.<ref name="mentalfloss"/> 
* "Hosed" is also a euphemism for [drunkenness](/source/alcohol_intoxication) 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.<ref>Elrick B Davis, "Paul Bunyan Talk," American Speech, Vol. 17, No. 4 (Dec., 1942), p. 222.</ref>{{dubious|reason=No way, hose-head! Hoosier is a US term|date=September 2025}}
* One theory is that it was derived from the term "hose bag" which was a popular insult amongst suburban Toronto high school students in the 1970s. The term was shortened to "hoser" to thwart the rebuffs of school teachers and parents who found "hose bag" offensive.{{cn|date=May 2026}}

==See also==
* [Canadian slang](/source/Canadian_slang)
* [Eh](/source/Eh)
* [Redneck](/source/Redneck)
* [Hillbilly](/source/Hillbilly)
* [List of ethnic slurs](/source/List_of_ethnic_slurs)
* ''[Strange Brew](/source/Strange_Brew)''
* ''[Yoga Hosers](/source/Yoga_Hosers)''

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Bob & Doug McKenzie}}

Category:Bob and Doug McKenzie
Category:Canadian slang
Category:Stereotypes of white people
Category:Pejorative terms for white people

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hoser](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoser) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoser?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.