Why are men called 'blokes'?
Question
How did men come to be called blokes?
Jessie, Orpington
Answer
** Definitive **
Name: Jay, Crouch End
Qualification: I did a course in linguistics
Answer: No one's entirely sure, but the most widely-accepted explanation is from the Bengali word loke, but somewhere down the line it was corrupted and a "b" was put in front.
(James O'Brien: Do you like the picture of "a bloke"?)