Idiom: different strokes for different folks

[Haihao]

Hi,

Could you please tell me what the 'stroke' in 'different strokes for different folks' originally applied to?

Many thanks in advance.

Haihao

[Jamie (K)]

I've looked this up, and nobody seems to know how the phrase originated or what "strokes" originally applied to. It's some kind of southern US dialect slang from the 1950s.

[NinaZara]

According to dictionary.com stroke can mean:

Informal To behave attentively or flatteringly toward, especially in order to restore to confidence or win over

Maybe stroke here means the 'manner/way' of approaching a person. Quoting you Haihao: just my two cents
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Okotteru Papa mo suki dakedo, nikoniko yasashii Papa ha mo~tto suki!

[Haihao]

Oh your two cents mean a million to me, Nina, thank you for the tip.

Haihao

[NinaZara]

You're too kind. Anyway, I've been wondering since you told me your real name, were you called 'Shinchan' when you were a child? 'Crayon Shinchan' is one of my favorite cartoon.Thou he's unbearably annoying （＊＿＊） .
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Okotteru Papa mo suki dakedo, nikoniko yasashii Papa ha mo~tto suki!

[Haihao]

Actually there are people still calling me that way even now, but nothing to do with 'Crayon Shinchan' (kiddin'). He's really a brat, I was not.

[NinaZara]