Login

Green’s Dictionary of Slang

hoke v.

[abbr. hokum n. (1)]

(US) to flatter, to string along, to hoax.

1928		in W.C. Fields By Himself (1974) 330: Fields [...] doesn’t ‘hoke’.
1935		A.J. Pollock Und. Speaks n.p.: Hoke, to string along; to jolly; to ridicule.
1971		Life 11 June 66: To hoke sales still higher, Stuart teased the press into columns of speculation about the real identity of the author [HDAS].

In phrases

hoke up (v.)

(US) to embellish, to render fraudulent; thus hoked-up adj.

1925		in Sat. Eve. Post 14 Feb. 47: Among the more outspoken of the profession the process is called hoking it up [HDAS].
1941		B. Schulberg What Makes Sammy Run? (1992) 236: The real thing — the way you and I know it. Hoked up of course.
1949		I. Shulman Cry Tough! 72: You’ve been seein’ too many hoked up movies.
1961		Punch 22 Feb. 331/2: The average moviegoer [...] is pleased to see pictorial evidence, a little hoked up for added amusement.
1964		L. Hansberry Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window in Three Negro Plays (1969) I i: I thought it was something people wanted. A place to listen to good folk music. With hoked-up come-ons.
1976		D. Hall Dock Ellis 189: [I]n a while you begin to realize that the children are real children, and not just short, hoked-up adults.
1992		Randolph & Legman Ozark Folksongs and Folklore I 37: A less hoked-up version of the traditional song is given in the British cavalry private mimeographed collection.