Apparently, further south, in the Land of the Free, a toboggan is something you wear, as in: “[She was] dressed in a toboggan, scarf and flannel-like jacket” (Associated Press).

Dressing in a toboggan was not something I had known about until today. However, here in the True North, Strong and Free, we would refer to such a knit hat as a toque (or tuque), which is apparently another unique Canadian term.

The wisdom of the masses at Wikipedia helped to clear up my confusion while admitting that “it is extremely confusing when people refer to a seasonal hat with the name of a specific winter sled” (Toboggan-Wikipedia).

I guess it is no surprise that those living in a land of long winters would come up with a few unique terms for items associated with the season.