etymology - The origin of the word, aw-shucks


I was drawn to the word aw-shucks appearing in the following paragraph of the latest article which I forgot to take note of the source:



“You know, I’m new to this campaign. Honestly, I never thought I would be standing here. I thought I would be spending this evening with all my friends in the great state of Indiana,” Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said in his RNC debut tonight. His aw-shucks approach went over well with delegates outraged by Ted Cruz’s refusal to endorse GOP nominee Donald Trump earlier in the night.



I was totally unfamiliar with the word “aw-shucks,” and found out the following definition in the free dictionary:


awshucks adj. seeming to be modest, self-deprecating, or shy: [C20: from the US interjection aw shucks, an expression of modesty or diffidence] Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014


Google Ngram shows that the word emerged in mid 1940, and its usage has been on a rapid increase to 0.00000136% level in 2000.


I’m curious to know the currency level and origin of this word. Does this word often apper in conversation and writings? How did the word that sounds as if like the exclamation, “Oh shock” come into American, informal, and in particular, adjective word?




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