skokiaan

/ ˈskɔːkɪˌɑːn /

noun

1. (in South Africa) a potent alcoholic beverage drunk by Black Africans in shebeens

Word History and Origins

Origin of skokiaan¹

C20: from Afrikaans, of unknown origin

Example Sentences

Mr. Ruffins, who sang when he wasn’t playing sweet and tart trumpet, looked toward Louis Armstrong, reviving a southern African song from the Armstrong repertory, “Skokiaan,” and sharing “What a Wonderful World” with the R&B singer Ledisi, whose scat-singing fluttered around his rasp.

From New York Times

But some also drank from jugs of the fiery illicit skokiaan until it was time to meet the evening trains from town.

From Time Magazine Archive

Man You sing a-bing, abang, a-bingo In hokey pokey Skokiaan.

From Time Magazine Archive

The balance is so easily upset that natives often go mad or blind from the skokiaan they buy in the shebeens of the native quarters.

From Time Magazine Archive