skookum - February 12

skookum

\ SKOO-kuhm \  , adjective



1.
Northwest U.S., Canada . excellent; first-rate.

2.
Northwest U.S., Canada . large; powerful; impressive.



Origin:
Skookum  is of Chinook origin. It entered English in the mid-1800s meaning "evil spirit."


Quotes:
He'd have made two of Ed there, and he was a skookum  man, but I whopped him some.
-- Louis L'Amour, "What Gold Does to a Man," Buckskin Run , 1981
Nobody comes along and says, "Me, I'm glad. I gotta wife and kids. I'm a skookum  feller. I got no trouble. I'm glad." Nobody talks like that, eh?
-- Harry E. Taylor, "Eyes Can Be Inside Too," The Rotarian , February, 1945