Everything about Tuque totally explained
A
tuque (
Canadian French:
tuque, sometimes also spelled
toque or
touque in
English) is a knitted
hat, originally of wool though now often of
synthetic fibers, that's designed to provide warmth in winter. All tuques are tapered, they sometimes have ear-flaps, and may be topped with a
pom-pon. (This style of tuque is often referred to as a sherpa). Tuques may have a folded brim, or none, and may be worn tightly fitting the skull or loose on top although the latter is considered more standard. The tuque usually is considered Canada's national winter hat, much like the
fur hat is in
Russia.
The word isn't etymologically related to the name of the
chef's
toque, although it's sometimes spelled "toque" instead of "tuque" (still pronounced /tuk/) by assimilation, or occasionally
touque although the latter is a common misspelling and not considered a standard spelling by the
Canadian Oxford Dictionary.
The tuque is similar to the
Phrygian cap and, as such, during the 1837
Patriotes Rebellion a red tuque became a symbol of
French-Canadian nationalism. The symbol was revived briefly by the
Front de libération du Québec in the 1960s.
Tuques are indispensable in cold climates, and are worn worldwide in various forms. They have become the common headgear for stereotypical dockworkers and sailors in movies and television. The most famous media characters to sport this kind of hat are the
SCTV characters,
Bob and Doug McKenzie.
Michael Nesmith of
The Monkees also wore this hat in his television series. As did
Robert Clothier's character
Relic in the long-running Canadian TV series,
The Beachcombers.
Bill Murray wore this type of hat in
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, possibly as a parody of the tuque worn by
Jacques Cousteau. The guitarist for the
Irish band
U2,
The Edge, is also known for wearing a tuque while performing, or during interviews.
Daniel Powter also wore a blue tuque during the music video for
Bad Day.
In the
United States, this type of hat is more commonly referred to by other names:
knit hat or
knit cap,
sock cap or
stocking cap,
watch cap,
(to)boggan,
skull cap or sometimes as a
ski cap. In
Australia,
New Zealand, the
United States and
the UK, the term
beanie refers pretty well exclusively to the knitted tuque-style hat, although that word is also used elsewhere to denote a more rigid cap that isn't
knitted but rather made up of joined panels of
felt,
twill or other tightly woven cloth. The lack of a consistent term for the tuque, outside Canada, is popular source material for Canadian comedians.
There also is a town known as
La Tuque, Quebec, named after a nearby hill that resembles a tuque.
In some sections of Canada a tuque with a brim on it, commonly worn by snowboarders, is nicknamed a bruque (a brimmed tuque).
Further Information
Get more info on 'Tuque'.
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