okay, what does the word "Hoosier" actually mean?

[CanuckAmok]

Someone TELL ME!

[Gemini Cat]

1. It's a secret.

Sorry, but I won't tell you.
You'll have to move to Indiana like I did to find the hidden meaning.

[Spider Jerusalem]

2. Google returns this...

http://www.indiana.edu/~alumni/fun/hoosier.html

[Seabiscuit]

3. I had no idea. After reading that article

I'm glad I wasn't born in Indiana.

[Orsino]

4. It's the official Indiana granfalloon.

http://www.kcoyle.net/granfalloons.html

[KitchenWitch]

5. while we are at it, can someone define what a "Sooner" is?

[Bok_Tukalo]

6. A "sooner" is a pejorative

It was a person who entered Oklahoma prior to the legally set date for when the area was opened to white settlement.

Basically, a criminal.

[Samoflange]

7. "Sooner" comes from the Land Run of 1889

Prior to the start of the 1889 Land Run in Oklahoma Territory, the US Army was garrisoned along the borders of the predetermined open areas to prevent settlers from sneaking onto the land and claiming land parcels "sooner" than everybody else.

The movie "Far and Away" demonstrated this, except there are no records of the Army actually shooting anybody that tried to jump the gun.

Many of those that worked for the railroads that already ran through the area had already claimed their lots several days before the Land Run, but I think the courts made them forfeit the claims once the truth got out.

In essence, Oklahoma's nickname, its famous football team, and every single person that calls themselves a "Sooner" is actually honoring cheaters...

Having lived here for 10 years, however, it doesn't surprise me that nobody in this state has ever really given that historical tidbit much thought.

[KitchenWitch]

8. Ouch

It sure is ironic what we humans celebrate, isn't it?

[ikojo]

9. In St Louis it is not a compliment.....

and it is used in the same way as white trash (ooh I hate that word but it's the easiest way to describe what hoosier means in St Louis).

Most of the time it's prefaced with South St Louis or Jefferson County. For some reason hoosiers never seem to come from wealthy West St Louis County or North St Louis County (which is more working and middle class than west county). I've also never heard of a St Charles County hoosier.

It took me a couple of years before I realized that to be called a hoosier in St Louis was not an ode to those from Indiana. For instance back in the late 80s and early 90s, people who didn't like the format on KSHE 95 (a radio station in St Louis) would disparage it by saying KSHE stood for

Keep
Serving
Hoosiers
Everywhere

[x-g.o.p.er]

13. Hey, Metro East here!!

And I love KSHE, although I admit I don't know what the format was in the 80's and 90's. I listen to Bob and Tom on my morning drive to work.

[pintobean]

16. Mildly white trashish would be more accurate. eom

[NewHampshireDem]

10. Dave Barry had a funny take on it a couple years ago ...

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/dave_barry/4930965.htm?1c

Hey! Hoosier daddy, Indiana?

DAVE BARRY


Boy, am I in trouble with the Hoosiers.

''Hoosiers,'' of course, is what people from Indiana proudly call themselves, and for an excellent reason, which I will explain shortly. Unfortunately, I managed to get a batch of Hoosiers very upset recently, when I wrote a column about which is the stupidest state.

For the record, I did NOT say that Indiana is the stupidest state. I believe that many states, including mine, are stupider than Indiana. What I did say -- and I now realize that I was wrong -- was that ''Hoosier'' is a stupid nickname. My argument was that nobody seemed to know what a ''Hoosier'' is, so why would you go around calling yourself one? I stated that, for all we know, ''Hoosier'' could be a Native American word for ``has sex with caribou.''

Many people wrote in to object, strongly, to that statement, including one Hoosier who pointed out that -- and it is hard to argue with this logic -- ''Indiana has no caribou.'' Several Native Americans were also quite upset, so let me first apologize to them, and state for the record that ''Hoosier'' is NOT a Native American word for ''has sex with caribou.'' I am sure there IS no Native American word for ''has sex with caribou,'' at least not referring to residents of Indiana, although I imagine there might be a Native American term to describe caribou having sex with other caribou, and I think we can all agree that this is perfectly proper.

<more>

[x-g.o.p.er]

11. My wife is from Indiana, and I looked it up...

in a big desk-top dictionary we used to have right after we got married, and I kid you not, the definition in the Merriam-Webster's had two meanings.

The first one was a native of Indiana

THe second one was someone who was unintelligent, lacking in culture, and unrefined.

The dictionary disappeared soon after the discovery was made, and my wife now denies that a) that is the definition that I showed her, and b) that we even ever owned a MErriam-Webster's desk-top uber dictionary.

She is in such a state of denial.

[DS1]

12. It's a laughable attempt to promote pride in a dull part of the country.

[Ediacara]

14. someone that hoosies

OBVIOUSLY!

[ET Awful]

15. They were tryin to say HOSER, and the accent screwed it up :)

:evilgrin: