Hoosier

See also: hoosier

English

Alternative forms

• hoosier

Etymology

Uncertain. See Wikipedia's article on the subject for theories. Popularized by the 1830 John Finley poem “The Hoosier’s Nest”.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈhuʒɚ/

Noun

Hoosier (plural Hoosiers)

1. A native or resident of the U.S. state of Indiana.

   Synonym: Indianan (exonym, often proscribed)

   • 2011, Colin Woodard, chapter 16, in American nations, New York: Penguin, →ISBN:

     Indiana’s Borderlanders called themselves Hoosiers, came from the backcountry of Kentucky and western Virginia, and were ambivalent about slavery.

2. Someone associated with Indiana University, for example as a student, alum, or sports team member, or as a fan. This is also the university's sports mascot.
4. (slang, St. Louis, Missouri) An uneducated, tasteless, boorish white person.

   Synonym: white trash

   Near-synonym: (Canada) hoser

   • 2014, Emily Giffin, The Emily Giffin Collection: Volume 2: Baby Proof, →ISBN:

     "The mall? Belinda, mall pickups are for hoosiers," I say, St. Louis slang for white trash. "With femullets." [...] "But Jake's no hoosier."

   • 2015, Pate McMichael, Klandestine: How a Klan Lawyer and a Checkbook Journalist ..., page 2:

     Taken as a whole, the article portrayed Ray as an indigent, racist “Hoosier” (St. Louis slang for redneck) with an inept, habitual tendency to commit petty crimes.

5. (US, historical) A kind of cupboard or dresser with shelves, drawers, etc.; a kitchenet.

Derived terms

• Hoosierish
• Hoosierism

 

Adjective

Hoosier (not comparable)

1. Characteristic of or pertaining to the American state of Indiana.
   • 1947, John Bartlow Martin, Indiana: An Interpretation, page xi:

     Less well known but perhaps even more interesting than Stephenson is Court Asher, the second "gentleman" from Indiana. Asher is a more convincing bigot than Stephenson, one more homegrown and more Hoosier than the puffed-up grand dragon, […]

   • 2009, Alden Studebaker, Hoosieritis: The Contagious Condition That Is Indiana, page 51:

     That's not very Hoosier, is it?

   • 2009, Alexander Lawrence, Blest Be the Tie, book 1:

     “Somehow the tradition doesn't seem very Hoosier.”

Synonyms

• (Indiana): Indianan (exonym)

Derived terms

• Hoosier Alley
• Hoosier pie

 

Further reading

• The Language of St. Louis, Missouri: (American United Studies XIII, Linguistics, Vol. 4) by Thomas Murray, 1986