What is a hoser?
I just saw this movie for the first time and absolutely loved it. My friend from Minnesota reccommended it to me and I laughed my butt off. Just one thing. What is a hoser? What is the American equivalent? Any answers?
shareKnob, dope, fool, but in a buddy kind've way. But for most americans, you have to ahve seen this movie for it to work. Take off you hoser. BTW, did you catch that it's a abbreviation for the dog? Hosehead. Hoser.
If you can't have fun doing something, why are you doing it?-me
Before the movie, they made an album called "The Great White North" with a top 20 hit in the States called "Take Off" (With Geddy Lee, from Rush singing and playing in it!). In the song (and in the whole album), they refer to themselves both as hosers and hoseheads. (If you can't find the album, then guarenteed at Christmas time you'll hear their version of the "12 Days Of Christmas". They refer to each other as "hosehead" in that, too.)By the time the movie came out, the soundtrack had them leaning towards saying "knob" more than "hoser/hosehead".
Did I mention I wasted a lot of my time listening to their albums as a kid?
Trish "I did it, you knob, I did it, you knob; I did it, I did it, I did it... you knob." 33
Here's the American Heritage Dictionary defintion:
Canadian Slang: A clumsy, boorish person, especially an uncouth, beer-drinking man.
I think that it is short for "hose head" and I have heard the term "hose" used to refer to mail genetalia. The term "psycho hose beast" is used in "Wayne's World" (written by a Canadian) and I am not sure that I want to know what that means.
I can only guess that "horked" means stolen, and (k)nob means something similar to hoser. There is a British slang work (k)nob, but I think that the meaning has changed in Canada.
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I love that there's a post just about this word!!! From my (Canadian) point of view, hoser is a tame insult. Between me and my friends it has almost become a term of endearment. It's really just another way to call someone a moron, dumbass, etc. Knob that I know of, was originally the short form of calling someone a doorknob. It was an insult from way back in the 80s and early 90s meaning someone was stupid person, moron, etc. But it wouldn't shock me if it originally came from the British slang. As for psycho hose beast....I laughed my ass off when you mentioned that, I haven't heard it in ages!! And it can be just as dirty as it sounds...
~Cate
"The future can be a scary place. Scare it back." - Sluggy Freelance
"...way back in the 80s and early 90s..."
My God, am I getting old :/
The dictionary had it close, I think. The beer drinking part is crucial, as it comes from "being hosed", i.e. drunk. I assume it refers to drinking beer from a funnel/hose apparatus, as that's popular here in Canada amongst teens (as well as "shotgunning"). Originally it was like calling someone a "piss-tank", meaning they were "pissed" drunk, but evolved to a friendly, generic "dumbass Canadian" kind of thing you'd use amongst friends. Recently (last winter) I went into a store I frequent. The clerk said "you're not wearing your touque today!" with surprise, as I always wear a touque in the winter obviously. Responding to him acually noticing, I replied laughingly "you know you're a hoser when...". He thought that was hilarious :-) Perhaps that'll help you understand by context... It's not really used as a common expression these days, more of an eighties thing.
I've never heard someone refer to male genetalia as hose, I don't know about you.
Yes "horked" used to mean stolen, but not for long. It then (80's) changed to mean summoning phlegm from your throat and spitting. I guess they call that "hocking a loogie" now, or did in the nineties anyhow.
Knob is short for doorknob, which is a modification of doornail, i.e. dumb as a - perhaps that's British originally, but lot's of Canadians still say knob. I guess people say "dumber than a sack of doorknobs" so maybe it just came from that... It's obviously not very harsh, I would call myself a knob if I looked at my watch while holding a coffee, spilled said coffee on my are foot, scalding said foot.