Date:  Mon, 3 Nov 1997 10:15:24 -1000
From:  Norman Roberts <nroberts[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]HAWAII.EDU>
Subject: "stoked"

Aloha e Listers

"I'm stoked it was only my leg and that everybody was there for me."

"He's just stoked that God lets him live, and he's thankful for his friends."

These statements appeared in a Honolulu Stat-Bulletin, 10/31/97: A-3 report
of a young man who had been bitten by a shark while surfing. The first
statement is by the victim; the second is by his sister. Both grew up on
Kauai and lived two years (1993-1995) in New Zealand.

This usage of "stoked" is new to me. I don't think it's local surfing
jargon or Hawaiian Creole English. The term seems to mean "relieved" or
"glad" in these contexts. Has anyone heard or seen it elsewhere?

The dictionary definition "to stoke the fire" probably doesn't apply here,
although it might be an extnsion of the meaning "to fill up on food."

Aloha

N