plunkn.adv.int.
/plʌŋk/, U.S. /pləŋk/ A. n.
1. slang.† a. A large sum; a fortune. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > sum of money > [noun] > large sum
pounda1225
ransom?a1300
fother14..
gob1542
mint1579
king's ransomc1590
abomination1604
coda1680
a pretty (also fine, fair, etc.) penny1710
plunk1767
big money1824
pot1856
big one?1863
a small fortune1874
four figures1893
poultice1902
parcel1903
bundle1905
pretty1909
real money1918
stack1919
packet1922
heavy sugar1926
motza1936
big bucks1941
bomb1958
wedge1977
megadollars1980
squillion1986
bank1995
1767 J. Wedgwood in Life (1894) x. 102 He is in no danger of making a Plunk, or what would be esteemed a Fortune by any other than a little country manufacturer.
b. North American. A dollar. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > sum of money > [noun] > specific sums of money > a dollar
skin1834
rock1837
buck1856
scad1856
simoleon1881
plunk1885
clam1886
slug1887
bone1889
plunker1890
ace1900
sinker1900
Oxford1902
caser1907
iron man1907
man1910
berry1918
fish1920
smacker1920
Oxford scholar1937
loonie1987
1885 Puck (N.Y.) 16 Sept. 43/3 I gives him a five-plunk piece.
1889 A. Trumble Mott St Poker Club 27 ‘Collar the plunks, Chinay,’ shouted Finnegan.
1909 W. G. Davenport Butte & Montana 56 Make it 25 plunks and let it go at that.
1910 P. G. Wodehouse Gentleman of Leisure xiii. 141 Dere's a loidy here..dat's got a necklace of jools what's worth a hundred t'ousand plunks.
1940 Sunday Times-Signal (Zanesville, Ohio) 16 Feb. (Mag.) Danny dropped four hundred plunks on the dogs.
2. colloquial. A blow, esp. a heavy one.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sound of blow or fall > [noun]
smitea1200
smita1425
yark1555
riprapc1580
brattlea1600
verberation1609
whack1737
whang1770
swash1789
plunk1809
tack1821
pong1823
snop1849
thunge1849
knap1870
thung1890
pow1931
thunk1952
bonk1957
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific degree of force > [noun] > striking heavily > a heavy blow > and resounding
bouncea1529
bang?c1550
dunder1789
plunk1809
crack1836
1809 T. Batchelor Orthoëpical Anal. Dial. Bedfordshire v, in Orthoëpical Anal. Eng. Lang. 140 Pelsy, Plungk, a blow.
1813 G. Bruce Poems, Ballads, & Songs 166 In his guid naig's fat rump it [a sc. dirk] stuck: Whilk nae being us'd to sic a plunk, Gae suddenly a fearfu' funk.
1932 J. T. Farrell Young Lonigan i. 32 And many's the plunk in the cocoanut that Paddy Lonigan got.
2004 Chicago Tribune (Nexis) 9 May The sound effects—the mandatory creaky door, a plunk on the head, a body falling..—that were needed for the two productions.
3. A brief resonant sound, esp. as made by plucking a string of a stringed instrument, or by removing the cork from a bottle.
ΚΠ
1822 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Sept. 313/1 The King's name, and the plunk of corks drawn to drink his health, resounded in every house.
1834 L. Ritchie Wanderings by Seine 167 We hear..the pistol-like report of beer, and the more soberly alluring plunk! of wine-corks.
1887 Herald & Torch Light (Hagerstown, Maryland) 7 July The Spanish dollars burst out of her gaping side and fell with a low, mellow plunk into the raging main.
1891 Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening News 7 Aug. He knows the soft plunk of the E string and the gurgle of the piccolo.
1901 ‘G. Douglas’ House with Green Shutters xxvii. 317 There was the sharp plunk of a cork being drawn, followed by a clink of glass.
1930 A. Ransome Swallows & Amazons xiii. 134 They listened and could hear the steady plunk plunk of an axe somewhere far above them.
1979 E. L. Doctorow Loon Lake xxiii. 183 A reader whose chants were punctuated by the plunks of the samisen like drops of water falling on a rock.
2001 T. Winton Dirt Music (2003) 134 He closed the bathroom door on her and the lock fell to with a sullen plunk.
B. adv.
colloquial (originally Scottish). Directly, exactly; squarely. Also: with a plunking sound.
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the world > space > direction > [adverb] > straight or due
rightOE
rightlyOE
evenc1300
plata1450
plain1509
straight1512
directly1513
fulla1529
flat1531
due?1574
dead1800
slap1829
plunk1866
squarely1883
1866 W. Gregor Dial. Banffshire (Philol. Soc.) 131 He leet the saxpins pllunk in o' the bottle.
1889 Star & Sentinel (Gettysburg, Pa.) 15 Oct. 1/6 Ther one of yer that ull fin' out 'bout them fust, I'll slap this here ole han' right plunk in his'n.
1897 S. R. Crockett Lads' Love v. 52 [Peas] are a' vera weel in broth, but if ye got them plunk on the jaw wi' a strong chairge o' powder ahint them, they might bring the water to your e'en.
1915 J. Wilson Lowland Sc. Lower Strathearn 111 He gaid plunk ee burn.
1953 S. Bellow Adventures of Augie March v. 75 It's one thing to be buried with all your pleasures..it's another to be buried right plunk in front of them.
2002 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant (Nexis) 19 Aug. d2 Plunk in the middle of a most oppressive heat wave, there was most definitely a breeze to catch.
C. int.
Representing a brief resonant sound (of the kind described at sense A. 3). (Frequently reduplicated.)
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the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sound of blow or fall > [adverb]
wallop1540
plunk1876
thunk1952
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sound of blow or fall > [interjection]
swack1673
paff1800
biff1843
plunk1876
pow1881
thunk1952
1876 L. Grover Our Boarding House iii, in America's Lost Plays (1940) IV. 217 (Places guitar on stool in front of railing) Let me rehearse, angelic creature, plunk—plunk—plunk—plunk—plunk—List to my burning vows of love.
1892 ‘M. Twain’ Amer. Claimant xix. 196 Feel my pulse: plunk—plunk—plunk.
1936 A. Ransome Pigeon Post xxvii. 292 They heard the noise up in the top of the wood... Plunk, plunk, plunk, and the rhythmic scraw of a saw.
1983 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 13 June c1/1 Ballesteros bent over the ball... Tap. Roll. Plunk. Cheers.
1991 R. Kerridge Jaunting through Ireland (BNC) All he could do on the banjo was strum ‘plunk plunk plunk’ over and over again.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
plunkv.1
/plʌŋk/, U.S. /pləŋk/ colloquial.
1.
a. transitive. To pluck or twang (a string) sharply; to play (a plucked string instrument, piano, etc.); to play (a note or tune) on such an instrument. Also figurative.In quot. a1825: †to croak or cry like a raven (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > larger song birds > family Corvidae (crow) > [verb (intransitive)] > croak (of raven)
quack1727
plunk1808
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > playing stringed instrument > play stringed instrument [verb (transitive)] > pluck
harp1629
twitch1669
plunk1808
pick1848
pluck1873
tirl1882
1808 A. Scott Poems (ed. 2) 229 Let Europe plunk her fiddle strings, Till them to unison she brings.
a1825 in J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. (1825) Suppl. II. 227/1 The corpie plunkin' i' the bog, Made a' my flesh turn cauld.
1896 Times-Democrat (Lima, Ohio) 12 Nov. A banjo in the parlor plunked that familiar air, ‘Behold, the Conquering Hero Comes.’
1898 Chicago Advance 31 Mar. 436/1 Robert marched out plunking the banjo, Charles rattling the bones.
1952 B. Ulanov Hist. Jazz in Amer. xx. 254 She reached her majority plunking two bass notes with her left hand.
1973 Time 25 June 94/3 Hungate got to tinkering at the piano one day and in 15 minutes plunked out a ditty he calls Down at the Old Watergate.
2005 Norwich (Connecticut) Bull. (Nexis) 7 Mar. 1 b ‘It's a stunning work,’ Warfield said, idly plunking piano keys.
b. intransitive. To make a plunking sound; to play on an instrument in this way.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > other resonant sounds > [verb (intransitive)] > of string
twang1567
harp1657
plunk1894
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > sound of instruments > sound [verb (intransitive)] > plunk
plunk1894
1894 Davenport (Ohio) Daily Leader 19 July 4 Do not keep plunking along with the left hand on the same chord as that employed in [etc.].
1903 Cosmopolitan Sept. 484/2 Street-pianos plunk away unweariedly.
1929 A. Mason Swansea Dan 199 The ocean plunked and gubbled as if in a nightmare.
1978 G. Vidal Kalki vi. 153 Electric guitars whined, drums rattled, sitars plunked.
1994 Guitarist Sept. 187/1 I got a guitar when I was twelve and started plunking around on it and I don't think I've stopped since.
2. Originally Scottish.
a. intransitive. To drop, sit, or settle abruptly. Frequently with down.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > falling > fall [verb (intransitive)] > abruptly
plump1673
plunk1808
1808 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Plunk..to plunge with a dull sound, to plump.
1888 Chicago Herald in J. S. Farmer Americanisms (1889) 427/2 B' that time the ol' man had plunked inter a bar'l.., thinkin' th't the mule 'd slide on by.
1891 J. H. Pearce Esther Pentreath i. i. 15 He ‘plunked-down’ all-of-a-heap on a neighbouring balk of timber.
1964 J. Thompson Pop. 1280 (1990) vii. 40 They [sc. beetles] go swooping around, looking for each other, and then they come together in mid-air and go plunking down on the ground.
1995 Visit'n (Vermont Folklife Center) 24/1 We plunked down at the kitchen table.
b. transitive. To place or set down heavily or suddenly. Frequently with down. Also reflexive: = sense 2a. Cf. plump v.1 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > placing or fact of being placed in (a) position > place or put in a position [verb (transitive)] > forcibly, firmly, or quickly
thudc1000
throwa1250
pilt?c1250
casta1300
pusha1350
hurla1375
paltc1390
thrusta1400
thack1542
clap1559
to throw on1560
planch1575
protrude1638
shove1807
bung1825
shoot1833
slap1836
plunk1866
slam1870
spank1880
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > falling > let oneself fall [verb (reflexive)]
plump1869
plunk1976
1866 W. Gregor Dial. Banffshire (Philol. Soc.) 130 He pllunkit a big stane doon in o' the wall amo' the wattir.
1895 G. Williams Scarbraes 35 [He] plunket the whole body bulk into the ladle.
1936 R. Lehmann Weather in Streets i. 222 The woman..plunked a great unappetising tray on my bed.
1963 New Statesman 11 Jan. 38/1 A pair of steel nuts that another worker inadvertently plunks on a plate.
1976 D. Heffron Crusty Crossed xi. 85 I went into the bedroom and plunked myself down on our bed.
2000 M. de Villiers Water (new ed.) ii. vi. 107 The waiter..plunked down a plate of lamb shashlik, grilled to stupefaction.
3.
a. transitive. To propel or force (esp. a projectile) with a sudden push. (In quot. 1884 figurative).
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the world > movement > impelling or driving > pushing and pulling > push and pull [verb (transitive)] > push > propel with a sudden push
plunk1884
1884 ‘Judge Wiglittle’ 10 Years Police Judge v. 29 The especial bull's-eyes which the rocks of reform were aimed to hit, and, as it were plunk out.
1893 R. Kipling Many Inventions 104 The moving galley's bow was plunking them [sc. oars] back through their own oar holes.
1899 J. Colville Sc. Vernacular 11 Whin and broom pods plunkt their peas on ruddy cheeks.
1959 E. Webber Escape to Utopia xiv. 264 Strang plunked a ball [sc. cannonball] into the edge of the bay before the astounded scoundrels at the tavern.
1968 Valley News (Van Nuys, Calif.) 25 July He threw a high fast ball to Sunland's Mike Platt, who plunked it over the left field fence.
b. transitive. Chiefly U.S. To hit, to wound; to shoot.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > strike [verb (transitive)]
swingc725
slayc825
knockc1000
platOE
swengea1225
swipa1225
kill?c1225
girdc1275
hitc1275
befta1300
anhitc1300
frapa1330
lushc1330
reddec1330
takec1330
popc1390
swapa1400
jod?14..
quella1425
suffetc1440
smith1451
nolpc1540
bedunch1567
percuss1575
noba1586
affrap1590
cuff?1611
doda1661
buffa1796
pug1802
nob1811
scud1814
bunt1825
belt1838
duntle1850
punt1886
plunk1888
potch1892
to stick one on1910
clunk1943
zonk1950
the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > injure [verb (transitive)] > wound
woundc760
breakc1175
hurt1297
sorea1400
bewound?1567
vuln1583
vulnerate1599
gugg1633
sauciate1645
plunk1888
traumatize1903
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > fire (a gun) [verb (transitive)] > shoot (a person or thing)
shoot1617
to bird off1688
to knock downa1744
to pick off1745
pop1762
drill1808
plug1833
perforate1838
slap1842
stop1845
pot1860
spot1882
plunk1888
pip1900
souvenir1915
poop1917
spray1922
smoke1926
zap1942
crack1943
pot-shoot1969
1888 Texas Siftings 21 Apr. 12 (caption) He'd jest swallerd brother Bill afore I plunked him.
1891 Outing Nov. 138/2 I would plunk the big gobbler I could distinguish from where I lay.
1893 S. Crane Maggie v. 46 Deh way I plunked dat blokie was great.
1916 C. J. Dennis Songs Sentimental Bloke (new ed.) 42 Romeo..Plunks Tyball through the gizzard wiv 'is sword.
1978 L. Pryor Viper iii. 41 We..plunked about five hundred clay birds a day.
c. transitive. Baseball. To throw or pitch the ball so that it inadvertently hits (a player).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > play baseball [verb (transitive)] > actions of pitcher
pitch1848
curve1877
to put over1891
scatter1892
save1899
to put across1903
walk1905
fan1909
plunk1909
southpaw1911
whiff1914
sidearm1921
sidearm1922
outpitch1928
blow1938
hang1967
wild pitch1970
1909 Atlanta Constit. 30 June 4/1 Birmingham scored in the third, when, with bases full, Johns plunked Molesworth on the body.
1970 J. Bouton Ball Four v. 191 With the bases loaded, he came sidearm on a lefthanded hitter and plunked him in the ribs.
1991 Sports Illustr. 8 Apr. 46/2 Later that year he twice plunked his own pitcher in the back on throws to second.
2005 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Apr. 267/1 The converted third-baseman began barking at the mound after being plunked by Arroyo.
4. transitive. North American. To pay, lay out (money); = plank v. 2a. Usually with down, out.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > pay money or things [verb (transitive)] > pay immediately or cash
to pay down?a1425
tender down1607
plank1824
plunk1890
plump1892
1890 Manitoba Daily Free Press 19 June To be married here is the most extravagant thing a man could do, unless the bride's pa plunks down the money cash.
1899 G. W. Peck Peck's Uncle Ike & Red Headed Boy (1903) xxii. 194 The old man plunked down two dollars..and they went and got seats on the bleachers.
1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xxxii. 373 Just let them tell him a thing is pretty and fashionable, and Matthew plunks his money down for it.
1966 Lima (Ohio) News 1 July 26/2 The company is plunking out that amount for her services as a comic kleptomaniac in ‘Penelope’.
1987 New Eng. Monthly June 70/1 By 1919, the U.S. Forest Service had plunked down almost $3 million for the land that formed the nucleus of the White Mountain National Forest.
2002 U.S. News & World Rep. 4 Nov. 23/2 Muhammad plunked down $250 at Sure Shot Auto Sales for the Chevy Caprice with nearly 150,000 miles on the clock.
5. intransitive. To opt for. Cf. plump v.1 5.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > choose [verb (transitive)]
choosec893
achooseeOE
i-cheoseOE
curea1225
choise1505
to make choice of1588
pitch1628
to fix on or upon1653
trysta1694
pick1824
to prick for1828
plump1848
to come down1886
plunk1935
1935 K. Dayton & G. S. Kaufman First Lady iii. 104 It was a toss-up between the Scouts and the Wayward Girls. She finally plunked for the Scouts.
1948 A. H. Vandenberg Let. 6 Dec. in A. H. Vandenberg & J. A. Morris Private Papers Senator Vandenberg (1953) xxi. 414 We should smack down the Russkies more effectively in our speeches in the UN Council and Assembly... I plunk with you for ‘curt decisiveness’ mixed with ‘derision’.
1981 J. Simon Paradigms Lost vi. 121 Gail Sheehy warned against too much reading aloud and plunked for more writing from the kids' own experiences.
2001 N.Y. Mag. 22 Oct. 98/2 If you're feeling reckless, plunk for the chocolate marquise.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
plunkv.2
/plʌŋk/, U.S. /pləŋk/, Scottish English /plʌŋk/ Scottish.
transitive. To play truant from (school). Also intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > learner > [verb (intransitive)] > to play truant
to play truant1560
mitch1580
mooch1622
to trig it1796
plunk1808
minch1836
wag1847
to play hookey1848
to hop the wag1861
to play (the) wag1861
to hook Jack1877
to bag school1934
to go on the hop1959
society > education > learning > learner > [verb (transitive)] > play truant from school
plunk1870
truant1899
scheme1905
1808 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. To Plunk,..to play the truant.
1840 in Sc. National Dict. (1968) VII. 187/3 I saw Jean Anderson cast Sabbath and yesterday. On the afternoons of both days she was plunking.
1868 J. Gray in D. Murray Mem. Old Coll. Glasgow (1927) 562 Plunking the class was so frequent as to cause numerous rows in Jammy's class.
1870 J. Nicholson Idylls o' Hame 36 Shinties to fung the fleeing bool, An' aiblins gar me plunk the schule.
1909 W. Wingate Poems (1919) 71 'Twas a bonnie day—and a day o' dule The day I plunkit the Sawbath schule!
1979 L. Derwent Border Bairn i. 12 I might as well tell lies, break crockery, kick the cat, plunk from school, and enjoy my transgressions.
1997 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 10 Dec. 17 Me and my mates didn't plunk school except to go and see Rangers playing Moscow Dynamo.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adv.int.1767
v.11808v.21808