Hoser (1981)

[Laurence Horn]

>Doug Wilson writes:
>>>I remember when the MacKenzie brothers came out with their 'song' and was
>>>VERY surprised that it could be played on regular ol' radio
>>>stations.  When I was in HS and college a 'hose' was a  'penis' and a
>>>'hoser' was a guy who used his 'hose' as often as he could with the gals.
>
>>How could it be otherwise? "Hose" for "penis" is an obvious metaphor and I
>>heard it repeatedly in the 1960's ... although it was not one of the more
>>frequent terms in this application. "Hose" as a verb equivalent to the
>>F-word or "lay pipe" was more frequent. "I've been hosed" and "You [stupid]
>>hoser" are very transparent euphemisms, I believe.
>
>>Perhaps the Toronto newspaper just published the half-dozen non-obscene
>>etymological suggestions which arrived, and discarded the hundreds of
>>letters which expressed the majority [and correct] interpretation?
>
>~~~~~~
>
>  I remember hearing "hoser" frequently on CBC radio in the late 70s & early
>80s and being puzzled by it, but its contexts suggested only slight
>rudeness, not indecency or obscenity.  I wasn't aware of the US usage, so
>had no association with it, but it was used so freely in Canadian talk,
>that I think their gloss *was* different. While Canadian airwaves are not
>Bowdlerized to the extent ours are -- "fuck" & "shit," &c., are not bleeped
>-- still, context marked this as a milder expression.
>A. Murie
>
Maybe "hoser" is like "suck" (cf. Ron Butters's work arguing that
that one isn't really obscene either in current use).

Larry