▪ I. hoke, v.
(həʊk)
[Back-formation from hokum.]
On the stage or screen: to overplay (a part), to act (a part) in an insincere, sentimental, or melodramatic manner. Also transf. and with up.
| 1935 A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 57/1 Hoke, to string along; to jolly; to ridicule. 1938 M. McCarthy in Partisan Rev. Jan. 48 Actors who have been playing for a long time in the same play will..‘hoke’ their performances more and more. A giggle becomes a laugh; a catch in the throat, a sob. 1939 C. Morley Kitty Foyle xxv. 244 She had the guts to keep her stuff to exclusive outlets and hoke it up with all sorts of restrictions. 1940 S. Lewis Bethel Merriday xxvii. 283 Mr. Nooks had..overplayed—‘hoked’ is the technical word—the role of the Apothecary. 1961 Punch 22 Feb. 331/2 The average moviegoer..is pleased to see pictorial evidence, a little hoked up for added amusement. 1971 M. Babson Cover-up Story iii. 33 Just try it straight..it's a mistake to hoke it up. |
▪ II. hoke
var. of holk, howk v.