Thursday, September 2, 2010

quicko: hokey

So I've used this twice in everyday conversation with Australians recently and neither knew exactly what I meant. It was then, twice, that I realized "hokey" is actually quite a difficult word to explain. It's an adjective. And negative. But not too negative. Kind of childlike. Kind of cringe-worthy. Kind of roll your eyes. Kind of I don't know, you just have to use it in context.

3 comments:

Laetitia :-) said...

Like "naff" in the UK for which an equivalent Aussie term would be "tacky". I have heard "hokey" before in relation to say the characters on "The Beverly Hillbillies".

KIM said...

Sort of ... it's actually closer to "corny" than "tacky," though it could potentially be both.

Laetitia :-) said...

Ah, yes "corny" - good equivalent.