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Skookum is a Chinook Jargon word that has come into occasional use in the Pacific Northwest. The word skookum has three main meanings: # (in regional English) an adjective with a variety of positive connotations; # a monster; similar to the sasquatch. # a souvenir doll once common in the United States in tourist areas. Skookum may also refer to the skookum cat breed. ==Principal meaning== It has a range of positive meanings. The word can mean 'good,' 'strong,' 'best,' 'powerful,' 'ultimate,' or 'brave.' Something can be ''skookum'' meaning 'really good' or 'right on! 'excellent!', or it can be ''skookum'' meaning 'tough' or 'durable.' A skookum burger is either a big or a really tasty hamburger, or both. Homecooked food described as ''skookum,'' is delicious and hearty. A person described as ''skookum,'' has a purpose and is on solid ground, and in good health and spirits. When used in reference to another person, e.g. "he's skookum," it conveys connotations of trustworthiness, reliability and honesty as well as (possibly but not necessarily) strength and size. Being called skookum may also mean that someone can be counted on as reliable and hard-working, or is big and strong. ''Skookum house'' means jail or prison, cf. the English euphemism "the big house" but here meaning "strong house." ''Skookum tumtum'', lit. "strong heart," is generally translated as "brave" or possibly "good-hearted." In the Chinook language, ''skookum'' is a verb auxiliary, used similar to "can" or "to be able." Another compound, though fallen out of use in modern British Columbia English, is ''skookum lacasset,' or strongbox. A related word ''skookumchuck'' means turbulent water or rapids in a stream or river, i.e. "strong water" ("chuck" is Chinook Jargon for "water" or "stream" or "lake"). There are three placenames in British Columbia using this word, and one in Washington. Of the British Columbia skookumchucks one is a famous saltwater tidal flow narrows at the mouth of Sechelt Inlet, the others at rapids on the Lillooet and Columbia Rivers, and also Skookumchuck Rapids Provincial Park on the Shuswap River, just downstream from Mabel Lake in the Monashees region. The Skookumchuck River in Washington is a robust tributary of the Chehalis River. While the tidal flow rapids at the mouth of Sechelt Inlet is ''the'' Skookumchuck on the BC coast, the term is used in a general sense for other patches of rough water, typically tidal-exchange rapids at the mouths of other inlets or bays, which are a regular feature of the Inside Passage. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Skookum」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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