hoser

English

Etymology

hose +‎ -er. The Canadian senses originally derive from hose (“to siphon gasoline from automobile gas tanks”), in reference to farmers who siphoned gas from farming vehicles; they were later reinforced by use to describe the players on the losing side of a game of shinny or hockey, who were required to hose down the rink to return it to a smooth state, and ultimately popularized in the 1980s by a sketch on the television show Second City Television, in which Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas played Bob and Doug McKenzie, who used the term as an insult for each other.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊzə(ɹ)

Noun

hoser (plural hosers)

1. One who operates a hose, e.g. a fire hose or a garden hose.
   • 2010, Rosalind Noonan, In a Heartbeat, →ISBN, page 34:

     […] they found one of the neighbors hosing down the area. He was pretty resistant when the cops told him to turn off the hose. The hoser gave the cops a statement, […]

   • 2011, Nigel Raab, Democracy Burning?: Urban Fire Departments and the Limits of Civil Society, →ISBN:

     Membership [in early Russian fire departments] included the mayor, a retired general, a teacher at a school for artists, a merchant, at least sixteen duma members, and teams of hosers, climbers, and security guards.

2. (slang) One that hoses, i.e. hurts (someone) badly.
   • 1997, Beth Moursund, The Official Magic: The Gathering : Strategies & Secrets, →ISBN, page 179:

     All three of these are blue-hosers. Every color in Magic has cards specifically designed to hurt it. Against many of the hosers, you can't really do much; the best strategy is simply not to rely too much on a single color.

3. (Canada, slang) A person (especially a farmer) who siphons gasoline out of a vehicle or piece of equipment.
4. (Canada, slang) A person who hoses down a lake after a game of hockey, to return it to a smooth state.
5. (Canada, slang) A clumsy, boorish person, especially an over-eating, beer-drinking man, or a man prone to petty infractions such as taking other people's food or drinks.
   • 1985, Canadian Dimension, volume 19, page 94:

     We bet you know lots of hosers, eh. And you want to help them not be hosers.

   • 2012, Canadian Television: Text and Context, →ISBN, page ix:

     This brings me to the second, more interesting genre of Canadian TV drama, one focused on what can be summarized as “hosers, whores, boozers, and losers.”

   • 2013, The Death of Cool: From Teenage Rebellion to the Hangover, →ISBN:

     As we laughed, we passed a table of scowling hosers and they gave our chortles an extra boost. They were beginning to come to terms with the notion that family resorts are not known for their abundance of poontang […]

6. (slang, derogatory) A Canadian.

See also

• hosebag
• hosehead

Anagrams

• H-O-R-S-E, H.O.R.S.E., HORSE, Horse, RSeOH, Rohes, Shore, hoers, horse, shero, shoer, shore

Middle English

Noun

hoser

1. Alternative form of hosyer