The History of Poke

[strass]

Not long ago, Shane taught us silly Yankees that a Poke is an ice cream cone. This was news to some of us simpletons who’ve heard the word poke in reference to…um…well, just watch the original “Lonesome Dove†films.

Rabbitsfizz then raised a trivia question about where the word “Cowpoke†came from and (being a simpleton) I went on an internet quest to find answers. While I’ve not been able to find a definitive answer as to the exact history of the term, I have discovered these possibilities for your consideration:

The term Cowpoke was given to the individual who was actually branding cattle, as it would appear from a distance that he was poking cows with a stick. It was also used to describe the men herding the cattle (to poke= to quickly push your finger or another object into something, here, into cows to make them move).

Poke was, at one time, used as a slang word for work. Hence, a Cowpoke would be anyone working cattle.

Pokey, is also an old word for slow. (at a time when many Easterners felt that Westerners were mentally inferior or lazy)

One archaic definition of poke was a bag or sack (e.g. a pig in a poke). By this definition, “Cowpoke†would refer to either a bovine’s milk bag or a sack of some kind made from leather (like a purse).

I’m sure that there is more out there, but my attention span is short so I thought I would share what I’ve found to this point and move on.

 

[shane]

:lol: thanks for the explanation....you learn somthing new everyday lol :aktion033: :bgrin

 

[nootka]

Heheh, I NEEDED a new explanation/definition for the word/term poke, I really, really did.

Thanks for that!

Liz M.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Well, when I go to button collector shows, they have a button poke. It is a container full of buttons and you paw through them and pick out the ones you want. I love button pokes!

Also, what about poke salad??? That is a good southern dish! I think the correct termonology for that is to go out and "pick a mess of poke"!

Marsha

 

[lilhorseladie]

If I find myself in the pokey after a wild night of partying, will you bail me out

Lots of uses for that great word, besides the naughty sense

 

[REO]

Also a poke was the bag they kept their tobacco in. Or their money poke.

At first I was worried! The meaning of the slang term of "poke" put together with "cowpoke"...well, I was afraid where that might lead! LOL!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

And how about a "Pig in a Poke"????

 

[chandab]

Also, what about poke salad??? That is a good southern dish! I think the correct termonology for that is to go out and "pick a mess of poke"!

Marsha

I'm not sure, but I think it's "polk salad". Ok, I just did a google search and came up with lots of hits for "polk salad".

Here's what came from a cyber dictionary:

1. polk salad

It's a plant that grows out in the woods and fields, looks kinda like a turnip green.

-- She would go out and pick herself a mess of polk salad, and take it home and cook it for supper

2. polk salad

-- It is a plant that grows in the south. It is very common in Georgia. It grows on a stalk and has green leaves. The plant can reach several feet tall by summer. I have seen them 6 feet tall. In the summer it produces red berries that birds love. The leaves are boiled, rinsed then cooked in bacon fat or lard with onions or eggs. It tastes like spinach. The tender stalks are chopped, coated in flour and fried, and tastes like okra. I have eaten tis wild plant all my life, and love it! It is said you can not harvest the plants once they produce berries. Old wives tales are once the plants produce berries they are poisionous, but birds do eat them and are not affected by them.

3. polk salad

-- A short, hardy, rugged bush which grows in the southern United States, which is sometimes boiled and eaten for food.

Annie gathered up a bunch of polk salad, boiled it, and ate it.