hokey Dinah other. an exclamation of surprise or marvel. Etymological Note: Perhaps a form of the slightly more common holy Dinah, though the Oxford English Dictionary has an entry for hokey, hoaky, defined as “a petty oath, or asservation.” Citations show a common form to be by the hokey which dates at least as far back as 1825. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
While compiling the Oxford English Dictionary, lexicographer James Murray exchanged hundreds of letters a week with authors, advisors, and volunteer researchers. A new collection online lets you eavesdrop on discussions about which words should be...
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a word-pecker is “a person who trifles or plays with, or quibbles over, words.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Word-Peckers” I always love it when I’m looking through the dictionary and...
Appears to have its most common usage in Canada based on the above citations, and based on my own observations.