8

The Canadian slang word hoser, "a term having spawned several popular false etymologies", meaning "a person who is considered unintelligent or uncouth, especially a beer-drinking man" (Dictionary.com), doesn't seem to be in English-French dictionaries even though it's a uniquely Canadian concept (the origin of which might have been a self-deprecating usage):

A Canadian, esp a simple and durable northern type •Originated by comedians Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis for the television skits called ''The Great White North,'' where it was used by the mentally challenged Mackenzie brothers: unavailable to us hosers, but can be bought down south/ unlike their hoser cousins (1980s+ Canadian) (Dictionary.com).

More or less adapted solutions may exist, but what word/expression (including slang) is normally used by French Canadians to mean just that?

Improve this question
6
  • 1
    Apparently, "hoser" isn't even used by Canadians, it's a word used to imitate Canadians, why would there be word in Canadian French ?
    – Teleporting Goat
    Feb 6, 2017 at 14:47
  • 1
    @TeleportingGoat Apparemment. L'article Wikipédia commence avec cette affirmation que vous faites, liée à la note 1. La note 1 renvoie à ceci, où on ne mentionne aucunement que c'est utilisé surtout par ceux qui imiteraient des Canadiens, on y dit plutôt que c'est du slang canadien, au même titre que ski-doo, toque ou Newfie. Toute information qui provient d'un truc qui débute par le mot wiki doit faire l'objet d'une validation, incluant des références...
    – user3177
    Feb 6, 2017 at 21:28
  • 1
    I'm sitting next to a Canadian at work, and a Canadian who plays hockey (where supposedly hoser comes from). He said he never heard that word.
    – Frank
    Feb 19, 2017 at 5:28
  • 2
    As a Canadian, I'll add that though I've encountered the word now and then, I've never used it myself, or heard it used, unironically -- that is, to talk "how Americans think we talk" (a frequent source of amusement up here).
    – Luke Sawczak ♦
    Feb 19, 2017 at 17:40
  • 2
    Ça semble être un genre de "redneck" canadien, non ? Le "beauf" de chez nous.
    – Destal
    Feb 19, 2017 at 23:06

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
2

In french we have two or three words similar, with slightly different meanings (in my region of France).

"Beauf" Describes someone shameless, mysoginist, who sometimes likes racist jokes, wears strange clothes and has a bad habit with alcool (particurlarly beer and pastis).

"Poivreau" typically someone visiting the village pub everyday at any time and drinking waayy too much. We say "Le poivreau du village". He is not necessarily a loser and a stupid man, but he is known for being regurlarly drunk and behave like an asshole.

I think "Poivreau" fits perfectly here.

The meaning of a word or expression can be different between two regions of France.

Hope it helps !

Improve this answer
1
  • Dans le même registre que "poivreau", il y a "pochtron" aussi.
    – Patsuan
    Jun 9, 2017 at 8:01
1

hoser in french is idiot for masculine or idiote for feminine. but idiot and idiote translate in to foolish person. I dont think there is a french Canadian word that means hoser i think this is as close to hoser as they have in the french Canadian language. i looked hoser up in a website called word reference.

Improve this answer
1
  • 3
    "Hoser" contains three ideas: "stupid" + "loser" + "beer-drinking", French idiot is far from a good translation. Using formatting and proper punctuation helps to readability of any written text. There are much better places than WordReference when looking for definitions or translations.
    – None
    Feb 19, 2017 at 8:57
1

'Beauf' seems to be the closest French equivalent. Contemporary, short for 'beau-frere', an uncouth idiot you unfortunately have to put up with..

Improve this answer
2
  • oh wait, there's an official definition.. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauf
    – user13512
    Apr 21, 2017 at 18:58
  • -1. Beauf is clearly French French and question is Canadian French.
    – ApplePie
    Apr 21, 2017 at 23:16

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.