hoke

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 2, 2009 is: hoke • \HOHK\  • verb : to give a contrived, falsely impressive, or hokey quality to -- usually used with "up" Examples: Sappy music and melodramatic acting combine to hoke up the movie's romance sequences. Did you know? "Hoke" is a back-formation of "hokum," which was probably created as a blend of "hocus-pocus" and "bunkum." "Hokum" is a word for the theatrical devices used to evoke a desired audience response. The verb "hoke" appeared in the early 20th century and was originally used (as it still can be today) when actors performed in an exaggerated or overly sentimental way. Today, it is often used adjectivally in the form "hoked-up," as in "hoked-up dialogue." The related word "hokey" was coined soon after "hoke" to describe things that are corny or phony. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.