# Why do people call hats toboggans?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-call-hats-toboggans/75615>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [August 9, 2001, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-call-hats-toboggans/75615 "2001-08-09T16:32:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Von\_Erich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@Von\_Erich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Von_Erich)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-call-hats-toboggans/75615/1 "2001-08-09T16:32:03Z")

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People where I live, North Texas, refer to those knit caps worn in winter as toboggans. I thought a toboggan was a sled, and according to Webster that is all that it is. Do people do this elswhere?

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**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-call-hats-toboggans/75615/2 "2001-08-09T16:37:45Z")

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Um, here in the land of snow and ice, where we actually USE toboggans, they are definitely sleds.

Toques, on the other hand, are hats.

Any chance the two were confused in the local parlance?

Al.

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**Author:** ![Rue\_DeDay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/41988e/32.png) [@Rue\_DeDay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rue_DeDay)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-call-hats-toboggans/75615/3 "2001-08-09T16:44:01Z")

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Toques are called (around here) toboggan caps (sometimes, and mostly by old people). Shorten it down, and you get “toboggan”.

-Rue

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**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-call-hats-toboggans/75615/4 "2001-08-09T16:58:03Z")

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**Moderator’s Notes:** I’m locking this thread. There’s a duplicate in GQ, which is the proper forum for this topic. **TexasPlayboy** , I have two pieces of advice for you that it would behoove you to follow if you wish your stay here to be pleasant.

First, do not post your topics to more than one forum. Doing such is called cross-posting and is frowned upon 'net-wide." Second, please re-read the forum descriptions on the front page of the message board. These will give you a guideline for determining what types of threads are appropriate for each individual forum. Thank you.