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cowabunga (kow-uh-BUN-gah) - int., an expression of surprise or exuberant approval.
Coined as kowa-bunga by Edward Kean, the writer* of The Howdy Doody Show, shortly after its start in 1947, as one of the phrases that Chief Thunderthud used at the start of his sentences -- all native american characters on the show prepended kowa- or kawa- to words as a sentence-head catch-phrase.
In the 1950s, surfers adopted "kawabonga!" as a declaration of enthusiasm, changing the pronunciation slightly to "cowabunga!" possibly under the influence of Hawaiian kupaianaha, surprising/wonderful. Use had almost died out but was revived in the mid-1980s by the character Michaelangelo of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and subsequently by Bart Simpson, usually while skateboarding.
* He seems to have been the only staff writer for the show's original run.
---L.
Coined as kowa-bunga by Edward Kean, the writer* of The Howdy Doody Show, shortly after its start in 1947, as one of the phrases that Chief Thunderthud used at the start of his sentences -- all native american characters on the show prepended kowa- or kawa- to words as a sentence-head catch-phrase.
In the 1950s, surfers adopted "kawabonga!" as a declaration of enthusiasm, changing the pronunciation slightly to "cowabunga!" possibly under the influence of Hawaiian kupaianaha, surprising/wonderful. Use had almost died out but was revived in the mid-1980s by the character Michaelangelo of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and subsequently by Bart Simpson, usually while skateboarding.
* He seems to have been the only staff writer for the show's original run.
---L.
