Is Cowabunga a real word?



Is Cowabunga an English word?

(a yell of exhilaration, mainly used by surfers.)

Is Cowabunga a Hawaiian word?

During the 1950s and 1960s surfers adopted “kawabonga!” as a declaration of enthusiasm, changing the pronunciation slightly to “cowabunga!”. “Kupaianaha” is the Hawaiian word for surprising or wonderful and it may have influenced surfers who had grown up with Howdy Doody.

What does the word Cowabunga mean?





Expressing amazement, enthusiasm, or joy

Interjection. cowabunga. (slang, originally US, usually humorous) Expressing amazement, enthusiasm, or joy.

Who used the term Cowabunga?

Where did cowabunga come from? Who’s to blame for such nonsense? Look north to West Bloomfield, Mich., and Eddie Kean for the definitive answer. The 79-year-old lounge pianist and composer coined cowabunga in 1949 while working as head writer for “The Howdy Doody Show.”

Is Cowabunga a Japanese word?

Cowabunga is not some term stemming from ancient Greek nor Latin nor any romance language. It was just a creation of a TV writer working in the ’50s.



What did the 1950s slang word Cowabunga mean?



cowabunga (interj.)

1954, American English, from exclamation of surprise and anger by “Chief Thunderthud” in “The Howdy Doody Show,” 1950s children’s TV show; used by surfers 1960s as a shout of triumph, and spread worldwide 1990 by use in the TV cartoon “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”

Is Kook a derogatory word?

The word “kook” is one of the most popular terms among the surfing and skateboarding communities. It is a derogatory expression applied to first-timers, and clumsy beginner boardsports participants, who try and fail to adopt the surfers’ etiquette and lifestyle.

What TV show coined the term Cowabunga?

Next, perhaps, the International Surfing Museum in Huntington Beach will confess the cultural debt it owes the children’s TV show, which ran from 1947 to 1960. After all, “Howdy Doody” invented the term “cowabunga,” which was used as an exclamation.