Hoke is a verb that means ‘to give a false or artificial quality to.’
Our word is of an unknown origin. All we know is that it’s been around since the early 20th century — along with its close relative the noun ‘hokum.’ Initially used to describe bad acting or writing, hoke has more recently been used to describe anything that rings false. Here’s an example:
My lawyer warned me not to hoke it up when my case went to trial. He feared that if the jury sensed my injury was fake, I’d have no chance to win the lawsuit
