hokey-pokey

[ hoh-kee-poh-kee ]

/ ˈhoʊ kiˈpoʊ ki /

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See synonyms for hokey-pokey on Thesaurus.com

noun

hocus-pocus; trickery.

Often Hokey-Pokey . a dance performed in a circle, or a song describing the simple movements of the dance.

ice cream as formerly sold by street vendors.

New Zealand. a toffee-flavored candy or ice cream popular in New Zealand.

Trademark.

Hokey-Pokey. a brand of white chocolate ice cream with honeycomb and caramel.

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Origin of hokey-pokey

First recorded in 1840–50; variant of hocus-pocus

Words nearby hokey-pokey

hoka, Hokan, hoke, hokey, hokey cokey, hokey-pokey, hoki, Hokinson, Hokkaido, Hokkaido wolf, hokku

How to use hokey-pokey in a sentence

More hokey than the inspired objects recalled by the curators: A frumpy teddy bear.
We All Have a Rosebud in Our Pasts|Sam Roberts|October 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But could something quite sensible lie behind this hokey-sounding separation cleanse?
Seriously Gwyneth? WTF Is ‘Conscious Uncoupling’?|Tim Teeman|March 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
By now, everyone knows how to do the Republican presidential hokey pokey: You put your right foot in.
Chris Christie’s Delicate Social Issues Dance|Michelle Cottle|August 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Instead of pokey World War II–era planes, the communists deployed MIG fighters that were a match for the best American planes.
Soviet-Era Secret Leakers Were Way Worse Than Snowden|Steve Usdin|August 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST

There was the lifeless and hokey Management ($934,000 box office) and Love Happens ($22 million).
Jennifer Aniston’s New Movie Sucks. What’s She Doing Wrong?|Kevin Fallon|August 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I'm so glad the old pokey bonnets are gone but o' fashion—the round ones are much more becoming to young people.
Continental Monthly, Vol. 4, No 3, September 1863|Various
She must be a stiff, pokey sort of a person, and I am sure it will be pleasanter without her.
And So They Were Married|Florence Morse Kingsley
I've got a hunch that if you don't, we go to the pokey and Uncle Peter will be left free to blow up everybody in town.
"And That's How It Was, Officer"|Ralph Sholto
I see myself living in a shabby house in a horrid pokey street, with two dirty little maids, and I could almost scream.
The Bishop's Apron|W. Somerset Maugham
Here is the poorer Italian colony; organ-grinders, ice-cream-barrow-men, "hokey-pokey" sellers, and their like.
Highways and Byways in London|Mrs. E. T. Cook.

British Dictionary definitions for hokey-pokey

hokey-pokey

/ (ˌhəʊkɪˈpəʊkɪ) /

noun

another word for hocus-pocus (def. 1), hocus-pocus (def. 2)

NZ a brittle toffee sold in lumps

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

hokey-pokey

Origin of hokey-pokey

Words nearby hokey-pokey

Words related to hokey-pokey

How to use hokey-pokey in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hokey-pokey