plungint.n.
/plʌŋ/, U.S. /pləŋ/ rare.
Representing the resonant sound made by a tennis racket striking a ball. Also as n.Only in Betjeman and allusions to his writings.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > other resonant sounds > [noun] > of string
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plung1952
1952 J. Betjeman First & Last Loves ii. 13 So that the real Bournemouth is all pines and pines and pines and flowering shrubs, lawns, begonias, azaleas, bird-song, dance tunes, the plung of the racket and creak of the basket chair.
1954 J. Betjeman Few Late Chrysanthemums 69 ‘Oh! Plung!’ my tauten'd strings would call, ‘Oh! Plung! my darling, break my strings.’
1958 J. Betjeman Coll. Poems (1997) 137 Pang! across the evening air Twangs Harold's racquet. Plung! the ball returns.
1992 Evening Standard (Nexis) 20 Nov. 10 Long may the Prince of Wales pour out his heart crying ‘Plung!’ to Mrs Parker Bowles.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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int.n.1952