Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' - "Walk-ER!"

Cafe Society
1

So I’m re-reading A Christmas Carol to try to get in the holiday mood (just ain’t happening, but it’s a long story). I’m finding a LOT of Victorian references I am just not understanding, but at the top of my list at the moment is the following passage:

STAVE V - The End of It

Apart from the fact that Turkey is capitalized in the middle of the sentence (did the Vic Brits normally capitalize species names?), and Scrooge refers to the boy as ‘My buck’ (hanh?!), my question is:

Who or what is “Walker”, and why is it written out with the final syllable capitalized? Is that a pronouciation thing I don’t understand? Obviously it’s some sort of exclamation, but what does the durned thing mean? Was it some contemporary catch phrase similar to “twenty-three skiddoo” or “fer shure”?

Help me enjoy the book more without this nagging at me, please.
(Mods, I put this here since it’s a literary question, but if you think it might get better response in GQ, feel free to switch it over. Grazie.)

2

From the OED

Oxford English Dictionary XII: 44.
"More fully, Hookey Walker. [Always written with initial capital; probably a use of the surname Walker.] An exclamation expressive of incredulity, Also occasionally as a sb. (= ‘humbug’), as in ‘That is all Walker.’

1811 Lex. Balatronicum, Hookee Walker, an expression signifying that the story is not true, or that the thing will not occur.

… Acc. to Bee, ex. John Walker, a prevaricating hook-nosed spy."

Hmm. Maybe we should have known earlier about John Walker Lindh.

3

According to The Annotated Christmas Carol, this is said in the following manner:

  1. on “walk”, bring your fist up to your nose, touching it with your thumb.

  2. on “er”, with your thumb still touching your nose, open your hand so that the fingers are vertical.

IIRC, some of the movie versions show this.

4

That’s a plum right googlie!

5

Thanks, folks. Had my internet connection lasted more than 30 seconds at a time (stoopid Sprint DSL), I’d have been on google first. As it is, I can post for about a moment, then poof, nada. (Sheesh, no one notices I’ve been gone for awhile, huh?)

Thanks again, and happy holidays if I cannot connect again.

6

As for Turkey, I suspect dickens did it for emphasis.

This was not a mere turkey, we’re talking about, this noble behemoth, larger than the boy, was a Turkey.