Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (US) a fool.

1925

T.A. Dorgan in Zwilling TAD Lex. (1993) 45: That’s the old hoke payin’ 90$ an hour to hear him talk baseball.

2. sentimental melodrama; thus nonsense.

1921		Variety 16 Dec. 10: All the hoke and standards were present.
1938		W. Winchell On Broadway 2 May [synd. col.] Mrs. Sacha Guitry [...] does a swoon on the level that tops all the hoke at Chez Firehouse.
1942		C. Binyon Holiday Inn [film script] You know, the usual hoke.
1959		‘Monroe Fry’ Sex, Vice & Business 62: Another bit of ‘hoke’ which has stood the test of time is the one where the master of the house opens the door to a pretty girl who asks demurely, ‘Is this the house where I am to be maid?’.