The mission lies before us: how are we, the American people, going to come together so that “cowabunga” is reinvigorated into mainstream conversation. It was not too terribly long ago, maybe 15 years, that this delightfully lighthearted interjection tickled the ears of various pop-culture prone children. Yet, it seems that this wonderful English/Indian term has fallen off the tongues of many today. The word hit its stride in the 1980s and early ‘90s. I fear that stride is long behind us, never to be heard from again. However, a select few, when this four syllable interjection reaches their ears, can still appreciate it.
[...] But, cowabunga need not only be used for sports events. Imagine the joy other restauranteurs would have if they heard the interjection by a woman after she has just ben proposed to. I mean look how these two situations compare. Example Man: “Will you marry Woman: (audience politely claps and goes about with their meals). Example Man: “Will you marry Woman: Cowabunga! (audience gives standing ovation, and in the excitement everyone else spontaneously proposes to each other). This is how my parents met, and they are still happily married. [...]
[...] It has been very well-noted that surfers adopted the word as their own. It's almost too easy to envision the standard lean, muscle-clad, beach-blonde stereotypical surfer-dude catching a major wave while yelling “Cowabunga, in a voice similar to Keanu Reeves' in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. As these surfers and Hollywood both resided in Hollywood, perhaps they made contact and exchanged some culture. Nevertheless, these sources, none too serious themselves, simply goes to prove that he word cannot be taken too seriously as well. [...]
[...] has faded. For once, it was strong in the funny bone of America. The exact word “cowabunga” probably did not involve much thought behind it. I suppose, technically, you could say that the word is originally Native American if you must place its origin somewhere. However, the word was actually made-up as a somewhat generic sounding “Indian word” for the The Howdy Doody Show (Karbach). Howdy Doody appeared successfully on television from 1947 until Eddie Kean was the main writer of the series and invented the characters of Chief Thunderbird and Princess Summerfall Winterspring. [...]
[...] When thinking of words like sweet,” etc.- these words sound great and also do not take too much breath. “Cowabunga” was almost too much of a conscious decision. If something interesting or enjoyable happened, throwing out a didn't take any thought. Yet, cowabunga's four syllables simply took too much time out of the day. At any point, cowabunga seemed almost too extreme so that if it was said it, the person yelling it almost seemed to be poking fun at themselves. It originated on a show called Howdy Doody. It then reached cult status among surfers. [...]
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