Date: Mon, 3 Nov 1997 20:10:38 -0500

From: Gerald Cohen gcohen[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UMR.EDU

Subject: "Stoked"



I see that "stoked" is treated in _The Surfinary: A Dictionary of

Surfing and Surfspeak_, by Trevor Cralle (Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press),

l991:



"stoked, adv., adj. l) excited, thrilled, jazzed--usually about the surf;

chock-full of enthusiasm or satisfaction. 2) Feeling the ultimate in

exhilaration; feeling high on life--can't wait to go surfing. 3) An

impressed reaction to something "boss." 4) A reaction to the ultimate

ride on the ultimate wave. ..."



Cralle then quotes John Grissom's _Pure Stoke_ (l982) concerning the

etymology of the term:



"To catch a wave was (and is) to stoke the fires of the heart and soul.

Hence the terms: to be stoked, the stoked life, degrees of stoke, and pure

stoke."



--Gerald Cohen







gcohen[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]umr.edu