"huck (it)" and "hoe-down"

Joel S. Berson Berson at ATT.NET
Sun Feb 9 23:53:22 UTC 2014


Can I argue that the evolution of "hoe-down" parallels that of
"huck"?  Of course I can.

"Huck" from a verb meaning "to fling oneself into the air" to "big
air" competitions under the name "Huckfest".  (See Ben's article.)

"Hoe-down" from a verbal phrase (well, I suppose not really) meaning
"to strike one's hoe on the ground" to dance gatherings under the
name "hoe-down".

Joel

At 2/9/2014 03:17 PM, Ben Zimmer wrote:
>I have a piece up on Slate about how a British snowboarder at Sochi said
>"huck it" and the BBC thought he said "fuck it." I give some historical
>background on the sporting use of "huck," citing Grant Barrett and Arnold
>Zwicky.
>
>http://www.slate.com/blogs/five_ring_circus/2014/02/09/billy_morgan_sochi_an_olympic_snowboarder_said_huck_it_and_the_bbc_freaked.html

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