DCHP-2

hoser DCHP-2 (July 2016)

• n. — informal, youth slang, dated

  an uncouth and dim-witted young person, usually a man.

  Type: 1. Origin — The term hoser refers to the type of Canadian young men who wear toques and flannel shirts while drinking beer and conducting inane conversations (see AHD-5, s.v. "hoser"). The term was popularized, or possibly invented, by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas. During the comedy television skit "Great White North", which first aired on Second City TV (SCTV) in 1981, they improvised skits playing two hosers called Bob and Doug Mackenzie (see the 1981 quotation). Two theories about the word's origin have been advanced (see the third 1982 and the 2010 quotations). Since we were unable to find examples of the word before 1981, we cannot comment on their accuracy. The term is most frequent in Canada (see Chart 1). See also COD-2, s.v. "hoser", which is marked "Cdn slang", Gage-5, s.v. "hoser", which is marked "Cdn. Slang", ITP Nelson, s.v. "hoser", which is marked "Canadian Slang", and OED-3, s.v. "hoser", which is marked "Canad. slang", AHD-5, s.v. "hoser", which is marked "Canadian slang".

  See also: Great White North  

  • 1981  Moranis, on the phone from the studio in Edmonton, reports that bits of language created for the MacKenzie skits ("take off, eh" and "hoser") are becoming common usage in parts of the country. 
  • 1982  Imagine my surprise, in reading in the January 20th edition of the Edmonton Journal, that fourteen physical education students handed in identical answers (including identical mistakes). [...] These students did not even attempt to play within the rules, and there will never be anything on their academic records that will suggest they were anything other than normal students. I smell a hoser here somewhere. 
  • 1982  hoser jerk, undesirable person, silly person but without the affectionate overtone. 
  • 1982  The use of the term "hoser" and the more personal "hose-head," popularized by the McKenzie brothers of Second City TV, has spurred the interest of colloquialism buffs. Recent revelations are timely since it's reported that CBC broadcaster Mark Phillips' reference to members of the British press as "hosers" has resulted in futile searches through otherwise largely unused Oxfords, Websters and so on. Apparently, the term "hoser" arose shortly after cars and gasoline-powered tractors came into use on the Prairies. Farm tractors in those days tended to be slow and cumbersome and some farmers operated land a fair distance from their homes. So, rather than bring their tractor to their fuel, they brought their fuel to the tractor and left it there in drums overnight. A few people saw this as a free source of gasoline. All that was required was a piece of rubber hose about seven or eight feet long. Technically, the process is known as siphoning, but "hosing" seemed more fitting somehow and the practitioners, depicted graphically with puffed-out cheeks and bulging eyes and sweaty foreheads, came to be known as "hose-heads" or "hosers." 
  • 1994  (1994)  Cruel fate socks it to an old hoser. 
  • 2004  Canadians also have their own unique vocabulary. Nanaimo bar and Generation X were coined in the Great White North -- as was the unforgettable "hoser". 
  • 2010  (If you're not old enough to remember, "hoser" is a term popularized by the McKenzie brothers during the old SCTV comedy skits called the Great White North. The term originates from pre-Zamboni days, when the losing team would have to hose down the ice after a hockey game. Hence, hoser is another word for loser.) 
  • 2013  There's a theory that says inside every Canadian - or at least many Canadians - there lurks a simple-minded and ultimately well-meaning doofus who loves hard rock, beer, the great outdoors, and beer. A hoser, in short. What's in it for your inner hoser at the Toronto International Film Festival? We scanned the programming for potential hits, and while we didn't get to see all the films we wanted in advance, we suspect the following might appeal to the flannel-shirted likes of Bob, Doug and the lads of the cult classic Fubar. 
  • 2013  [the writer is seeking the agreement of the reader that the named people are "hosers" and icons at the same time] Now, I happen to think Black should be allowed to stay in Canguest Canada. Give back his citizenship. Everybody's entitled to a mistake. Anyway, he's an icon of the Great White North as genuine as Eddie Shack, Rob Ford and any other hoser, eh? And he's a fine writer. Hey, it's a big country. We're big people. 
  • 2016  On Feb. 19, 2010, one of the best moments of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games took place -- Russell's own Jon Montgomery won the gold medal in men's skeleton. Montgomery winning the gold was an amazing moment -- but when a fan gave him a fresh pitcher of beer to drink, that was one of the highlights of the Olympic Games. This typical Canadian hoser from rural Manitoba, chugging down a pitcher of beer, became one of the most popular athletes at the Olympics.