poke#

poke vb Poke, prod, nudge, jog are comparable when they mean, as verbs, to thrust something into so as to stir up, urge on, or attract attention and, as nouns, the act or an instance of such thrusting.

Poke implies primarily the use of a body part (as a finger or foot) or of some instrument or implement (as a stick, a rod, or a poker), but sometimes, especially in verbal use and in idiomatic phrases, it may imply the operation of something equally effective in stirring up or in rooting out

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walked up and down and poked among the rocks— Masefield

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he poked the man in front of him to attract his attention

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poke up the fire in a stove

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he handed one to Lonnie, poking it at him until Lonnie's attention was drawn from the hogs— Caldwell

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poked his head round the corner— Sayers

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liked to poke his nose into another person's affairs

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give the fire a poke or two

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Prod suggests the use of something sharp which can stab or prick or goad into action; it may be a physical thing (as a sharp pointed stick)

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probed and prodded and palpated that tortured and self-tortured flesh— Styron

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the cattle needed to be prodded along

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or it may be something less tangible but equally effective (as sharp words, a threat, or a taunt)

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the excitement of trying ... to prod them into action— J. R. Green

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prod lazy schoolboys

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give Willis a prod on the subject of church attendance— Mackenzie

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Nudge suggests gentler action than the preceding terms; it may imply the use of an elbow in attracting attention especially under conditions when speech is impossible

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he nudged the person sitting next to him to allow him to pass

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Squeers then nudged Mrs. Squeers to bring away the brandy bottle— Dickens

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give him a nudge or he will not see her

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or it may imply a mere suggestion or hint

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what was not trimmed from our pages by an editor's nudge was given away in the hagglings of pub-lisher and author— Mailer

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or it may imply repeated gentle action (as in moving or shifting)

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impudent little tugboats . . . nudged our ship out of its slip— J. W. Brown

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Jog implies a thrust or, often, a touch on or as if on the elbow or arm that to some extent shakes one up

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a bored-looking man, with a fashionably-dressed woman jogging his elbow— Jerome

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a jog to one's memory

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almost any idea which jogs you out of your current abstractions may be better than nothing— Whitehead

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Analogous words: *push, shove, thrust: *stir, arouse, rouse, awaken: *provoke, excite, stimulate, galvanize, quicken

poke n prod, nudge, jog (see under POKE vb)