Question
My husband frequently says he will “hosey” something when he wants to claim it (the last chocolate chip cookie, for example). Where does this word come from?
Answer
This word is peculiar to New England, where children used it in games when choosing sides. To hosey means “to choose,” so that a child might say, “I hosey Bobby for our team.” Although New Englanders agree on the usage, the origin of the term is unclear. Some say that it may come from the French word choisir, meaning “to choose,” or from a heavily Irish-accented pronunciation of the English word choose.
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