skunkn.
/skʌŋk/, U.S. /skəŋk/ 1.
a. A weasel-like mammal of North America, Mephitis mephitis, having black and white striped fur and a bushy tail, and able to spray a foul-smelling liquid from the anal glands when threatened. In later use also: any of various other members of the genus Mephitis or family Mephitidae. Also with distinguishing word.spotted skunk, striped skunk: see the first element.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Mustelidae (weasel, marten, otter, or badger) > [noun] > genus Mephitis (skunk)
polecat1605
skunk1634
huffer1729
skunk weasel1771
mouffette1774
stinking polecat1791
mephitic weasel1827
essence-peddler1838
zorrino1885
skunklet1888
wood-pussy1899
1634 W. Wood New Englands Prospect i. vi. 22 The beasts of offence be Squunckes, Ferrets, Foxes.
1674 J. Josselyn Acct. Two Voy. 85 The Squnck is almost as big as the Racoon.
1701 C. Wooley Two Years Jrnl. N.-Y. 28 Musquashes, Skunks, Deer and Wolves, they bring upon their backs to New-York.
1775 A. Burnaby Trav. Middle Settlements N.-Amer. 11 (note) There is a species of polecat in this part of America, which is commonly called a skunk.
1800 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. I. ii. 395 A smell as insufferable as that of some of the American Weesels or Skunks.
1825 S. T. Coleridge Aids Refl. 116 As..the Skink and squash, are treated by American Woodmen, who turn their backs upon the fetid Intruder.
1894 R. Lydekker Royal Nat. Hist. II. 75 In South America the group is represented by a very distinct species known as the white-backed skunk (Conepatus mapurito).
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) I. xxi. 722 The skunk is not one but many, but let us keep to the common skunk (Mephitis mephitica), for one skunk at a time is enough for our efforts at appreciation.
1957 F. Mowat Dog who wouldn't Be xiii. 179 The skunk, cocksure and smug as are all the members of his species, came down the sidewalk just as dusk was falling.
1995 Animals' Voice Spring 13/1 Young skunks begin to spray, albeit inaccurately, at about one month of age.
2015 A. L. Miller Skunk ii. 31 Skunks in the Americas are most readily identified by the conspicuous black-and-white patterns of their glossy coats.., but not all skunks come in black and white.
b. The fur of the skunk.
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society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > skin or hide > skin with hair attached or fur > [noun] > other pelts or furs
fawa1200
ruskin1278
grisa1300
grover1310
letticea1399
cristy gray1404
pured?1435
watermail1489
cesil1492
callyvanc1524
wolverine1596
moleskin1652
flix1667
skunk1791
lion-skin1805
nutria1811
chinchilla1824
Alaska sable1869
fisher1879
monkeyc1896
marmot1911
tarbagan1928
1791 N.-Y. Jrnl. & Patriotic Reg. 5 Oct. 315/3 A generous price given for all kinds of hatting furs, such as beaver,..racoon, cat, skunk, &c.
1862 B. Taylor Let. 16 Dec. in M. Hansen-Taylor & H. E. Scudder Life & Lett. B. Taylor (1884) I. xvii. 404 Sables are so expensive as to be vulgar, and skunk..is infinitely handsomer.
1884 Daily News 23 Sept. 6/1 Skunk is to be very much worn this winter. It can be deodorised to a very great extent.
1918 Dry Goods Economist 4 May 35/3 Among the novelty fur combinations for fall is the waist-length cape of skunk trimmed with tails.
1958 Sarasota (Florida) Herald-Tribune 25 Nov. 9/3 One of the ladies whose only fur wardrobe was a (slightly moth-eaten) collar of skunk on a six-year-old tweed.
2007 L. Howe Miko Kings ii. 30 A local trapper named Sam Lewis, who's never worn anything but a cowhide jacket, mulls over the notion of wearing skunk.
2. colloquial.† c. Rubbish, nonsense. Obsolete.Apparently an isolated use.
a. Chiefly North American. A dishonest, mean, or contemptible person.
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the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > baseness > base person > [noun]
houndOE
hinderlingc1175
whelpc1330
vilec1400
beasta1425
dog bolt1465
shake-rag1571
vassal1589
brock1607
shag-rag1611
shack-rag1612
slubberdegullion1612
baseling1618
shag1620
shab1637
slabberdegullion1653
whiffler1659
hang-dog1693
reptile1697
Nobodaddyc1793
skunk1816
spalpeen1817
tiger1827
soap-lock1840
shake1846
white mouse1846
sweep1853
shuck1862
whiffmagig1871
scrubber1876
ullage1901
jelly bean1905
heel1914
dirty dog1928
crud1932
crut1937
klunk1942
crudball1968
scumbag1971
bawbag1999
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > condition of being held in contempt > [noun] > state or quality of being contemptible > contemptible person
wormc825
wretchOE
thingOE
hinderlingc1175
harlot?c1225
mixa1300
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whelpc1330
wonnera1340
bismera1400
vilec1400
beasta1425
creaturec1450
dog bolt1465
fouling?a1475
drivel1478
shit1508
marmoset1523
mammeta1529
pilgarlica1529
pode1528
slave1537
slim1548
skit-brains?1553
grasshopper1556
scavenger1563
old boss1566
rag1566
shrub1566
ketterela1572
shake-rag1571
skybala1572
mumpsimus1573
smatchetc1582
squib1586
scabship1589
vassal1589
baboon1592
Gibraltar1593
polecat1593
mushroom1594
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cittern-head1598
nit1598
stockfish1598
cum-twang1599
dish-wash1599
pettitoe1599
mustard-token1600
viliaco1600
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stump1602
snotty-nose1604
sprat1605
wormling1605
brock1607
dogfly?1611
shag-rag1611
shack-rag1612
thrum1612
rabbita1616
fitchock1616
unworthy1616
baseling1618
shag1620
glow-worm1624
snip1633
the son of a worm1633
grousea1637
shab1637
wormship1648
muckworm1649
whiffler1659
prig1679
rotten egg1686
prigster1688
begged fool1693
hang-dog1693
bugger1694
reptile1697
squinny1716
snool1718
ramscallion1734
footer1748
jackass1756
hallion1789
skite1790
rattlesnake1791
snot1809
mudworm1814
skunk1816
stirrah1816
spalpeen1817
nyaff1825
skin1825
weed1825
tiger1827
beggar1834
despicability1837
squirt1844
prawn1845
shake1846
white mouse1846
scurf1851
sweep1853
cockroach1856
bummer1857
medlar1859
cunt1860
shuck1862
missing link1863
schweinhund1871
creepa1876
bum1882
trashbag1886
tinhorn1887
snot-rag1888
rodent1889
whelpling1889
pie eatera1891
mess1891
schmuck1892
fucker1893
cheapskate1894
cocksucker1894
gutter-bird1896
perisher1896
skate1896
schmendrick1897
nyamps1900
ullage1901
fink1903
onion1904
punk1904
shitepoke1905
tinhorn sport1906
streeler1907
zob1911
stink1916
motherfucker1918
Oscar1918
shitass1918
shit-face1923
tripe-hound1923
gimp1924
garbage can1925
twerp1925
jughead1926
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fuck?1927
arsehole1928
dirty dog1928
gazook1928
muzzler1928
roach1929
shite1929
mook1930
lug1931
slug1931
woodchuck1931
crud1932
dip1932
bohunkus1933
lint-head1933
Nimrod1933
warb1933
fuck-piga1935
owl-hoot1934
pissant1935
poot1935
shmegegge1937
motheree1938
motorcycle1938
squiff1939
pendejo1940
snotnose1941
jerkface1942
slag1943
yuck1943
fuckface?1945
fuckhead?1945
shit-head1945
shite-hawk1948
schlub1950
asswipe1953
mother1955
weenie1956
hard-on1958
rass hole1959
schmucko1959
bitch ass1961
effer1961
lamer1961
arsewipe1962
asshole1962
butthole1962
cock1962
dipshit1963
motherfuck1964
dork1965
bumhole1967
mofo1967
tosspot1967
crudball1968
dipstick1968
douche1968
frickface1968
schlong1968
fuckwit1969
rassclaat1969
ass1970
wank1970
fecker1971
wanker1971
butt-fucker1972
slimeball1972
bloodclaat1973
fuckwad1974
mutha1974
suck1974
cocksuck1977
tosser1977
plank1981
sleazebag1981
spastic1981
dweeb1982
bumboclaat1983
dickwad1983
scuzzbag1983
sleazeball1983
butt-face1984
dickweed1984
saddie1985
butt plug1986
jerkweed1988
dick-sucker1989
microcephalic1989
wankstain1990
sadster1992
buttmunch1993
fanny1995
jackhole1996
fassyhole1997
fannybaws2000
fassy2002
1816 Maryland Republican (Annapolis) 12 Oct. There were five skunks, who apostatized from Republicanism, within a few months back, and voted the Federal ticket on Monday last. As they are generally known, I have no doubt the boys and little negroes will hoot at them in the streets, and greet them with the hue and cry of skunks! skunks!! skunks!!!.
1838 Lady's Bk. May 196/2 I'm ashamed of ye! What good would it do you now, to knock such a skunk as he is into a cocked hat?
1855 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Sept. 338/1 Now, Tom, you skunk, this is the third time you forgot to set on that switch.
1891 N. Gould Double Event 42 That miserable old skunk you've engaged to take my place.
1930 M. Constantin-Weyer Half-Breed vi. 200 But you,..you bloody pest, you dirty skunk!
1954 Galaxy Mag. Apr. 27/2 You skunk, you cheated my poor wife blind!
2000 Evening Herald (Plymouth) (Nexis) 14 Oct. 26 Of all the low-down low-life skunks, you're the lowest, you miserable excuse for a human being.
b. figurative. Something likened to a skunk, in having an unpleasant smell, or in being an object of dislike or aversion. Usually with of followed by a noun indicating the class to which it belongs, or (occasionally) in virtual apposition (as in quot. 1976).
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1878 J. Sands Out of World (ed. 2) iii. 46 This oil..has at first a very offensive smell—a smell, indeed, which pervades every part of the fulmar, flesh, feathers, and all. He has been well named the skunk of birds.
1882 Rep. Tariff Comm. I. App. B. 921 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (47th Congr., 2nd Sess.: House of Representatives Misc. Doc. 6 pt. 3) II Mr. Kelley pronounces methyl the skunk of the spirits.
1933 H. E. Yates Bali iv. 50 That fruit exuded a smell as putrid as a spoiled egg or very bad limburger. The durian is called the skunk of the fruit kingdom.
1960 Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald 8 Aug. 4/5 A month ago South Africa was—I quote—‘the skunk of the world’. From north, south, east and west a barrage of criticism, rising at times almost to hysteria had beaten down on the government because of its policy of apartheid.
1976 Daily Times (Lagos) 8 Oct. 7/6 However, for throwing away the skunk of a national anthem that was unashamedly saddled to this federation for 16 long years, a thousand cheers to the father of this nation, late Murtala Muhammed.
2007 Financial Times 17 July 13/2 Poland is currently the skunk of the EU, largely because of its flamboyant violation of this polite consensus.
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the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > that which is unimportant > worthless
hawc1000
turdc1275
fille1297
dusta1300
lead1303
skitc1330
naught1340
vanityc1340
wrakea1350
rushc1350
dirt1357
fly's wing1377
goose-wing1377
fartc1390
chaff?a1400
nutshella1400
shalec1400
yardc1400
wrack1472
pelfrya1529
trasha1529
dreg1531
trish-trash1542
alchemy1547
beggary?1548
rubbish1548
pelfa1555
chip1556
stark naught1562
paltry?1566
rubbish1566
riff-raff1570
bran1574
baggage1579
nihil1579
trush-trash1582
stubblea1591
tartar1590
garbage1592
bag of winda1599
a cracked or slit groat1600
kitchen stuff1600
tilta1603
nothing?1608
bauble1609
countera1616
a pair of Yorkshire sleeves in a goldsmith's shop1620
buttermilk1630
dross1632
paltrement1641
cattle1643
bagatelle1647
nothingness1652
brimborion1653
stuff1670
flap-dragon1700
mud1706
caput mortuuma1711
snuff1778
twaddle1786
powder-post1790
traffic1828
junk1836
duffer1852
shice1859
punk1869
hogwash1870
cagmag1875
shit1890
tosh1892
tripe1895
dreck1905
schlock1906
cannon fodder1917
shite1928
skunk1929
crut1937
chickenshit1938
crud1943
Mickey Mouse1958
gick1959
garbo1978
turd1978
pants1994
1929 D. H. Lawrence Pansies 148 Once and for all, have done with it, all the silly bunk of upper-class superiority; that superior stuff is just holy skunk.
d. U.S. Military slang. A surface craft which has not been identified; a possible enemy craft. Cf. bogy n.1 6.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > war vessel > [noun] > unidentified vessel
skunk1945
1945 J. Bryan Diary 24 Mar. in Aircraft Carrier (1954) 112 ‘Skunk’ is code for a surface contact, a companion term to ‘bogey’ in the air.
1952 N.Y. Times Mag. 19 Oct. 14/4 The cruiser is..useful at times for coastal bombardment or to seek out and destroy enemy ‘skunks’ (surface craft).
1971 D. Lavallee Event 1000 i. 9 Radar reports contact bearing three-zero-one, range twenty-seven thousand yards. Designated Skunk Kilo.
1981 J. L. Mooney Dict. Amer. Naval Fighting Ships VII. 428/1 After continuing that ‘skunk patrol’ for five days, Ute salvaged the merchantman, SS Excellency, a ship that had run aground while carrying munitions to Vietnam.
2000 L. H. Addington Amer.'s War in Vietnam vii. 75 Herrick was informed that blips on his ships' radar screens suggested that ‘skunks’—unidentified and possibly hostile vessels—were approaching the American flotilla.
3. slang. Originally: a potent strong-smelling strain of the cannabis plant; (now chiefly) any of a number of especially potent strains of cannabis; the drug obtained from such a plant. Chiefly as a mass noun.Skunk contains a high concentration of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the principal narcotic component of cannabis.
ΚΠ
1982 R. De Sola Crime Dict. 139/1 Skunk, a potent variety of marijuana surreptitiously cultivated in California state parks and adjacent rural areas.
1989 U.S. News & World Rep. (Nexis) 6 Nov. 27 Nostalgic baby-boomers..would not recognize the power or price of today's domestically grown weed—strains with nicknames like ‘Skunk Number 1’.
1993 Guardian 23 July ii. 17/4 Skunk, named because it smells so awful, is grown under artificial light in Holland and north and south east England, but is still relatively rare.
2003 K. Sampson Freshers 160 We've only smoked the two badboys, but fuck does that skunk do your head in!
2018 liverpoolecho.co.uk (Nexis) 19 May I remember a period of time when all I wanted was £20 to be able to buy a bag of skunk.
Phrases
Originally U.S. drunk as a skunk and variants: extremely drunk; intoxicated.
ΚΠ
1926 G. Hughes Mummers' Play of Heart of Old Kentucky in New Plays for Mummers 102 O Dan, you're drunk! You're drunk as a skunk!
1959 H. K. Hastings & J. Muir Little Widow is Dangerous Thing xii. 190 The screen door opened and Uncle Caleb reeled out, drunker than a skunk, with a jug of Mr. Ignew's shine under his arm.
1980 G. Owen Flim-Flam Man 94 Of course he was as drunk as a skunk in a mash barrel.
2012 R. O'Neill Weight of Human Heart (2013) 36 I order an ice-cold bottle of beer and gulp it down. Then I have another and another until I'm drunk as a skunk.
Compounds
C1. General attributive in sense 1a, as skunk fur, skunk odour, skunk smell, etc.
Π
1809 Public Ledger (Philadelphia) 30 Jan. 1/2 The Hudson's Bay Company Will expose to Sale..Beaver, Musquash, Martin, Fox, Rabbit, Swan, Racoon, Badger and Skunk Skins.
1862 B. Taylor in Life & Lett. (1884) I. xvi. 404 With my pelisse of racoon and my cap of skunk-skin.
1882 S. F. A. Caulfeild & B. C. Saward Dict. Needlework 451/2 Skunk Fur..is of a dark brown colour, rather long in the hair, and rough.
1920 Farm Boys' & Girls' Leader (Des Moines, Iowa) Nov. 22/2 The first boy in Colorado to start a skunk farm.
1972 V. D. H. Sneve Jimmy Yellow Hawk vii. 71 Big Jim had to pile all of the boy's clothes in the back yard, pour kerosene over the pile and burn it because the skunk smell would never come out.
2005 Jrnl. Mil. Hist. 69 269 The scientists foiled this project by mixing a chemical solution that gave off a distinct skunk odor.
C2. General attributive and objective in sense 3, as skunk addict, skunk dealer, skunk factory, skunk user, etc.
Π
1994 Daily Record (Glasgow) 13 May 13 They found skunk plants in a secret room hidden behind an orange and black curtain.
1996 Mirror (Nexis) 26 Jan. 24 Neighbours of a white-painted semi in Romford would never guess what is going on behind its drawn curtains. But inside is a skunk factory in full production.
2000 Herald Sun (Melbourne) (Nexis) 3 Apr. 5 Increasing numbers of young ‘skunk junkies’ are being driven to suicide and mental illness by potent strains.
2009 @erinhesterly 28 Feb. in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) I think we live next to a skunk farm or something. Our house smells like skunk again! :-/.
2009 B. Chikwava Harare North xvii. 139 The street vendors, skunk dealers,..homeless people and thiefs. I don't trust no one here.
2017 dailyrecord.co.uk (Nexis) 19 Feb. Castle Craig rehab centre..helps skunk addicts try to turn their lives around.
C3. † skunk weasel n. Obsolete (Thomas Pennant's name for) the striped skunk, Mephitis mephitis; cf. sense 1.
skunk ape n. a large, hairy, manlike creature supposedly inhabiting the swamps of Florida; cf. Bigfoot n. 2 and sasquatch n.Apparently named for its foul odour.
Π
1971 Pensacola (Florida) News 9 Aug. 2/5 Tibet has its Abominable Snowman. Oregon has its Bigfoot. Now Florida has its Skunk Ape, claims an amateur archaeologist who says he's going to catch an apeman that lives in Big Cypress Swamp.
2002 G. M. Eberhart Mysterious Creatures II. 505/2 Trappers and fishermen have told stories of Skunk apes since the 1920s, but reports became frequent after the 1970s when real estate developers invaded the Everglades.
2008 Times 18 Feb. (Times2 section) 2/3 In 2005, Scott Marlowe, a Florida cryptozoologist, claimed to have been hit on the head by a skunk ape armed with a stick.
skunk bear n. the wolverine, Gulo gulo.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Mustelidae (weasel, marten, otter, or badger) > [noun] > genus Gulo (wolverine)
wolverine1574
gulo1607
glutton1674
quickhatch1683
carcajou1703
kinkajou1760
beaver-eater1771
Indian devil1838
skunk bear1876
1876 G. B. Grinnell in Rep. Secretary of War II. ii. 636 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (44th Congr., 2nd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc. 1, Pt. 2) II Gulo luscus... In this region, they were spoken of as the ‘Skunk-bear’.
1961 Tamarack Rev. Spring 9 He slouched..but never preventing the fear from settling in him, never preventing it from turning his eye wary and cruel as any skunkbear's.
2002 D. McCartney Picking up Pieces xvii. 167/1 They are called skunk bears because they urinate on food caches and animal food, leaving an odour that is revolting to other animals and man.
skunk bird n. chiefly U.S. the bobolink, Dolichonyx oryzivorus, the male of which is black with a yellowish nape and white markings on the wings and back; cf. skunk blackbird n. [After Cree (Woods) sikāk-pithīsiw (cited in the same work as quot. 1831; < sikāk skunk (cognate with the Algonquian words cited in the main etymology) + pithīsiw thunderbird).]
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > arboreal families > family Icteridae > [noun] > genus Dolichonyx (bobolink)
ortolan1666
ricebird1709
reed-bird1764
bobolink1774
rice bunting1781
butter bird1790
October bird1793
skunk blackbird1829
skunk bird1831
rice troupial1836
meadow-wink1884
1831 W. Swainson & J. Richardson Fauna Boreali-Americana II. 279 This singular bird..is termed by the Cree Indians ‘Skunk-bird’, from the similarity it bears to the quadruped of that name in its white markings.
1951 New Castle (Pa.) News 6 Sept. 5/2 Our bobolink..is known variously as reedbird, skunkbird, rice-bird, ortolan and others far less flattering.
2016 @PatheticRambler 18 June in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) Finally identified the skunk bird hanging around the acreage. It's called a #Bobolink.
skunk blackbird n. chiefly U.S. the bobolink, Dolichonyx oryzivorus, the male of which is black with a yellowish nape and white markings on the wings and back; (= skunk bird n.); (also) †the red-winged blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus (obsolete rare).
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > arboreal families > family Icteridae > [noun] > genus Dolichonyx (bobolink)
ortolan1666
ricebird1709
reed-bird1764
bobolink1774
rice bunting1781
butter bird1790
October bird1793
skunk blackbird1829
skunk bird1831
rice troupial1836
meadow-wink1884
1829 J. Macauley Nat., Statist., & Civil Hist. State N.-Y. I. 439 Small black bird with white on its wings, or skunk black bird.
1859 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (ed. 2) Skunk blackbird, the common marsh blackbird, so called in the rural districts of New England, New York, and Canada West.
1907 Oölogist 24 22/2 On the uncultivated meadows, both in dry and wet situations, the skunk black bird abounds.
2010 T. Warhol & M. Schenck Birdwatcher's Daily Compan. 261/1 The male bobolink's black-and-white plumage and yellow head prompted the nickname of skunk blackbird.
skunkbush n. North American (also more fully skunkbush sumac) either of two North American sumacs, Rhus aromatica and R. trilobata, the leaves of which have a strong scent when crushed.Also called squawbush.
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1874 Our Boys & Girls May 376/2 A short, wiry fellow, who..stepped away a rod or two behind some tall skunk bushes.
1909 Univ. Colorado Stud. 6 278 Rhus trilobata, the common ‘skunk bush’.
1963 Jrnl. Wildlife Managem. 27 770/1 Buds and fruits of skunkbush sumac were..foods for the lesser prairie chickens.
2018 B. Wiles Mountain States Medicinal Plants 201/1 Skunkbush is a lower-growing shrub, ranging from 1 to 8 feet in height.
skunk cannabis n. = sense 3.
Π
1995 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 30 Sept. 875/2 A S Wylie and colleagues report that three of eight patients on a methadone programme experienced psychotic symptoms after using modest amounts of ‘skunk’ cannabis.
2003 Observer 2 Nov. i. 14/6 In Britain, high quality ‘skunk’ cannabis sells for around £3,500 a kilo.
2018 @StaffsPolice 29 Mar. in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) Two men failed to make a clean getaway after hiding skunk cannabis in laundry bags. They were jailed for 10 years.
skunk currant n. North American a North American wild currant, Ribes glandulosum, which has a musky odour similar to that of a skunk's spray.Also called mountain currant.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular fruit-tree or -plant > [noun] > tree or plant producing edible berries > currant bush
blackcurrant1633
currant-tree1649
currant1665
riberry1670
currant-bush1813
skunk curranta1817
a1817 T. Dwight Trav. New-Eng. & N.-Y. (1821) II. 312 Three sorts of currants are found in the forest: the red, the black, and a peculiar kind, called Skunk currants.
1921 Amer. Forestry Jan. 9/2 (caption) Diving for skunk currants in a brush pile.
2015 E. W. Chester et al. Guide Vascular Plants Tennessee vi. 552 R[ibes] glandulosum Grauer, Skunk Currant—Moist high-elevation woods... Bruised leaves and berries have the odor of skunk.
skunkhead n. U.S. either of two North American ducks having (in the male) black and white plumage, the Labrador duck, Camptorhynchus labradorius (now rare) and the surf scoter, Melanitta perspicillata.
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the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > subfamily Merginae (duck) > [noun] > genus Somateria > somateria labradoria (pied duck (extinct))
pied duck1637
pie-duck1813
skunkhead1843
1843 B. F. Thompson Hist. Long Island (ed. 2) II. 266 Skunk head, Pied Duck, [Fuligula] Labradora.
1876 Forest & Stream 23 Nov. 245/2 The surf duck is often called ‘skunkhead’ which ‘goes without saying’ if you have an old male in hand.
1906 Shields' Mag. Aug. p. ii/2 Here comes a big skunkhead, with his bright bill, flying about 60 miles an hour.
1955 Amer. Speech 30 179 The extinct Labrador duck was known in New York as skunk duck and skunkhead.
2004 Nat. New Eng. Winter 39/1 Surf scoters, Melanitta perspicillata , have large brightly-colored bills and are referred to by hunters as ‘skunk-heads’ because of the males' striking head pattern.
skunk porpoise n. U.S. now rare the Atlantic white-sided dolphin, Lagenorhynchus acutus, which has distinctive white, black, and grey markings.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > order Cetacea (whales) > suborder Odontoceti > [noun] > family Delphinidae > other types of
Risso's dolphin1870
skunk porpoise1879
false killer1937
1879 G. B. Goode Catal. Coll. Animal Resources & Fisheries U.S.: Internat. Exhib. 1876 (Bull. U.S. National Mus. No. 14) 10 Lagenorhynchus perspicillatus, Cope.—Skunk Porpoise.—Eastern Coast.
1884 G. B. Goode in G. B. Goode et al. Fisheries U.S.: Sect. I 16 The best known species on the Atlantic coast are the ‘Skunk Porpoise’, or ‘Bay Porpoise’.
1968 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) B. 253 276 Linton referred to two kinds of cysts from the mesentery of a skunk porpoise, Lagenorhynchus acutus, caught at ‘Menemsha Bight, Vineyard Sound’.
skunk spruce n. any of several strong-smelling North American spruces; esp. the white spruce, Picea glauca.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > conifers > [noun] > spruces
spruce?1602
Norway fir1666
spruce fir1676
hemlock tree1679
hemlock1728
spruce pine1731
white spruce1731
black spruce1741
red spruce1741
Norway spruce1766
silver fir1789
var1793
Engelmann1866
Sitka spruce1867
Sitka pine1868
skunk spruce1876
Colorado spruce1881
Yeddo spruce1932
1876 J. J. Rowan Emigrant & Sportsman in Canada x. 277 A variety of the latter [sc. the black spruce (Abies nigra)], called by the Indians ‘skunk spruce’, from its smell.
1897 C. R. Dodge Descriptive Catal. Useful Fiber Plants of World (Rep. U.S. Dept. Agric., Fiber Investig., No. 9) 266 Picea canadensis. White Spruce... Common names.—White spruce, single spruce, skunk spruce, cat spruce, etc.
1948 Hutchinson (Kansas) News-Herald 24 Dec. 8/2 A tree specialist..said the tree was a ‘skunk spruce’ which had never been regarded as good for anything.
2010 R. L. Bitner Timber Press Pocket Guide Conifers 130/2 The needles emit a pungent odor when crushed, leading to the common name of skunk spruce.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Mustelidae (weasel, marten, otter, or badger) > [noun] > genus Mephitis (skunk)
polecat1605
skunk1634
huffer1729
skunk weasel1771
mouffette1774
stinking polecat1791
mephitic weasel1827
essence-peddler1838
zorrino1885
skunklet1888
wood-pussy1899
1771 T. Pennant Synopsis Quadrupeds 233 Weesel... Skunk.
1819 A. Rees Cycl. XXXVII. at Viverra Mephitis;... With white back, marked with a longitudinal black stripe: the skunk weasel of Pennant.
1832 Mag. Nat. Hist. 5 (Index) 775/2 Skunk weasel, Viverra mephitis, notes on.
Derivatives
ˈskunkdom n. †(a) skunkish character obsolete rare; (b) the world of skunks; skunks collectively.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > offensiveness > [noun]
offensiveness1618
skunkdom1839
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Mustelidae (weasel, marten, otter, or badger) > [noun] > genus Mephitis (skunk) > collectively
skunkdom1839
1839 J. Brown Lett. (1907) 49 My skunkdom requires only to be known to be felt!
1867 New Eng. Farmer Feb. 84/1 Reduce the tax on the faithful house and farm dog one-half from its present amount..and skunkdom would be shaken to its centre, while turkeys would gobble a merry requiem over the remains of their adversaries.
1945 Coshocton (Ohio) Tribune 16 Jan. 2/6 By all the rules of skunkdom he [sc. the skunk] ought to be asleep in a hole somewhere.
2012 Lebanon (Pa.) Daily News (Nexis) 29 May There was much yapping at that [sc. a ceramic skunk]. Charlie ever meets the real deal of skunkdom, and the enthusiasm will fizzle, I'm sure.
ˈskunkish adj. (a) dishonest, mean, or contemptible (cf. sense 2a); (b) reminiscent of a skunk, esp. in odour or appearance.
ΘΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > condition of being held in contempt > [adjective] > contemptible
unworthc893
unwrastc893
littleOE
narrow-hearteda1200
wretcha1200
unworthya1240
wretchedc1250
un-i-wrastc1275
bad1276
lechera1300
feeblea1325
despisablea1340
villain1340
contemptiblec1384
lousyc1386
caitiff1393
brothelyc1400
roinousa1425
poor1425
sevenpennyc1475
nasty1477
peakish1519
filthy1533
despectuous1541
beggary1542
scald1542
shitten?1545
disdainfula1547
contemptuous1549
despicable1553
skit-brained?1553
contemniblea1555
vile1560
sluttish1561
queer1567
scornful1570
scallardc1575
tinkerly?1576
worthless1576
beggarly?1577
paltry1578
halfpenny1579
dog bolt1580
pitiful1582
sneaking1582
triobolar1585
wormisha1586
baddy1586
dudgeon1592
measled1596
packstaff1598
roguey1598
roguish1601
contemptful1608
grovelling1608
lightly1608
disdainable1611
purulent1611
snotty-nose1622
vilipendious1630
cittern-headed1638
wormy1640
pissabed1643
triobolary1644
disparageable1648
blue-bellied1652
unestimable1656
scullion1658
piteous1667
dirty1670
shabbed1674
shabby1679
snotty1681
snotty-nosed1682
mucky1683
bollocky1694
scoundrel1700
scaldeda1704
sneaking1703
ficulnean1716
unsolid1731
pitiable1753
scrubby1754
inimitable1798
scrubbish1798
worm-likea1807
small1824
lowlife1827
ketty1828
skunkish1831
yellow-bellied1833
scaly1843
cockroachya1845
wutless1853
nigger1859
trashy1862
low-down1872
cruddy1877
shitty1879
tinhorn1886
blithering1889
motherfucking1890
snidey1890
pilgarlicky1894
shitass1895
shoddy1918
yah boo1921
bitching1929
shit-faced1932
turdish1936
fricking1937
jerk-off1937
chickenshit1940
sheg-up1941
snot-nosed1941
jerky1944
mother-loving1948
scroungy1948
fecking1952
pissant1952
shit-kicking1953
shit-eating1956
bumboclaat1957
rassclaat1957
shit-headed1959
farkakte1960
shithouse1966
daggy1967
dipshit1968
scuzzy1969
bloodclaat1971
bitch ass1972
wanky1972
streelish1974
twatty1975
twattish1976
dweeby1988
douchey1991
wank1991
cockish1996
1831 Boston Masonic Mirror 2 July 3/2 I suspect that I am a villain, and withal a little skunkish—indeed, I confess it.
1872 Photogr. Times June 84/1 The place, however, was filled with the smell of onions. As we had an hour and a half at Indianapolis, one of the party..captured the skunkish fruit.
1975 N.Z. Parl. Deb. 402 5213/1 I believe that Australians would regard such a Government as perpetrating a dirty, low-down, skunkish trick.
2012 N.Y. Times 31 Jan. 1 What's black and white, with a skunkish look to its cover?
ˈskunklet n. a young skunk. figurative in quot. 1888.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Mustelidae (weasel, marten, otter, or badger) > [noun] > genus Mephitis (skunk)
polecat1605
skunk1634
huffer1729
skunk weasel1771
mouffette1774
stinking polecat1791
mephitic weasel1827
essence-peddler1838
zorrino1885
skunklet1888
wood-pussy1899
1888 Judge (N.Y.) 21 Apr. 20/1 If Jay Gould is a skunklet as well as a pirate king..he is the kind of remarkable combination the dime museums have long been looking for.
1894 Westm. Gaz. 2 Feb. 3/1 The five or six little skunklets remain en famille with their parents until the following spring.
1960 Sci. News Let. 6 Feb. 93/1 Sweet Sue's Adventures... About a mother skunk and her eight skunklets, for young readers.
2006 Edmonton (Alberta) Jrnl. (Nexis) 26 June a24 Six skunklets were born there and then promptly abandoned by their mother.
ˈskunk-like adj. resembling or suggestive of a skunk.
Π
1815 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 21 Jan. 70 The report of this ‘considerable majority’ comes to us through the Times newspaper, that channel of skunk-like abuse of America and all that is American.
1936 Washington Post 3 May (Parade of Youth) 6/2 The wolverine is a small, black, skunk-like animal weighing about 30 pounds.
2003 Times 31 May (Weekend) 12/6 You either love them [sc. fritillaries] for their rudely thrusting spring stems, carrying veined bell flowers..or hate them for the skunk-like smell of their bulbs.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2019; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
skunkv.
/skʌŋk/, U.S. /skəŋk/ slang (originally and chiefly North American).
1. † a. intransitive. To fail. Obsolete.Despite the description of this as ‘common’ in quot. 1831, other examples of this intransitive use have not been found.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > fail or be unsuccessful [verb (intransitive)]
withsitc1330
fail1340
defaulta1382
errc1430
to fall (also go) by the wayside1526
misthrive1567
miss1599
to come bad, or no, speedc1600
shrink1608
abortivea1670
maroon1717
to flash in the pan1792
skunk1831
to go to the dickens1833
to miss fire1838
to fall flat1841
fizzle1847
to lose out1858
to fall down1873
to crap out1891
flivver1912
flop1919
skid1920
to lay an egg1929
to blow out1939
to strike out1946
bomb1963
to come (also have) a buster1968
1831 Constellation (N.Y.) 1 Jan. 54/1 It is a common expression in New-England, to say of a person, who does not get a king in the game of chequers, he skunked.
b. transitive. To defeat, beat, or get the better of (another person, team, etc.); spec. to prevent (an opponent) from scoring a single point. Frequently in passive: to be utterly defeated; to be completely unsuccessful.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > have or gain mastery or superiority over [verb (transitive)] > overcome or defeat
shendc893
overwinOE
overheaveOE
mate?c1225
to say checkmatea1346
vanquishc1366
stightlea1375
outrayc1390
to put undera1393
forbeat1393
to shave (a person's) beardc1412
to put to (also at, unto) the (also one's) worsec1425
adawc1440
supprisec1440
to knock downc1450
to put to the worsta1475
waurc1475
convanquish1483
to put out1485
trima1529
convince1548
foil1548
whip1571
evict1596
superate1598
reduce1605
convict1607
defail1608
cast1610
banga1616
evince1620
worst1646
conquer1655
cuffa1657
trounce1657
to ride down1670
outdo1677
routa1704
lurcha1716
fling1790
bowl1793
lick1800
beat1801
mill1810
to row (someone) up Salt River1828
defeat1830
sack1830
skunk1832
whop1836
pip1838
throw1850
to clean out1858
take1864
wallop1865
to sock it to1877
whack1877
to clean up1888
to beat out1893
to see off1919
to lower the boom on1920
tonk1926
clobber1944
ace1950
to run into the ground1955
1832 Huron Reflector (Norwalk, Ohio) 31 July Iph any bode kan beet that, I gess they'll skunk them air yankees down east, und tha bete awl nature.
1843 Quincy (Illinois) Herald 24 Nov. 2/1 The Legislature will be Democratic by an overwhelming majority; it is more than probable that the Whigs have been skunked.
1898 N. Brooks Boys of Fairport ii. 37 Their only hope now was to ‘skunk’ the White Bears, who were coming to bat.
1944 K. Duncan & D. F. Nickols Mentor Graham xvi. 170 Lincoln, with a short, logical speech in which no words were wasted, ‘skunked’ his adversary.
1959 E. Connell Mrs. Bridge lxxxix. 185 I guess I told you about our church team skunking the Southwest second team, didn't I.
2016 Kingston (Ont.) Whig-Standard 12 July c1 After rallying late to capture Saturday's opening game.., Kingston got skunked 11-0.
c. transitive (passive). Hunting and Angling. To fail to make a single kill or catch.
ΚΠ
1881 Forest & Stream 12 May 286/2 The sun went down and I hadn't seen nary hoof, and I began to think I was going to be skunked that day sure, but I took a pull at my pipe and waited patiently till it got most too dark to shoot.
1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 18 Oct. 10/1 Very few hunters who went after the pheasants..did not get some at any rate, and the man who was ‘skunked’ probably would be very hard to find.
1971 D. Conover One Man's Island 33 When the Colonel comes home from fishing, by his vociferous oaths we know that he was skunked.
2006 Chronicle (Centralia, Washington) 15 Sept. c2/3 Occasionally a group in a boat will get skunked or only hook squawfish but that is the exception.
2.
a. transitive. To fail to pay (a bill, creditor, etc.). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > insolvency > [verb (transitive)] > fail to meet (obligations)
default1693
skunk1851
1851 B. H. Hall Coll. College Words 284 Skunk, at Princeton College, to fail to pay a debt; used actively; e.g. to skunk a tailor, i.e. not to pay him.
1859 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (ed. 2) (at cited word) A student who leaves college without settling up, is said to skunk his bills.
1961 Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. (at cited word) Made a practice of skunking hotels.
b. transitive. To cheat, swindle, or defraud (a person). Also with out of: to deprive (a person) of something by deceit or unfair means. Frequently in passive. Now somewhat rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > defeat or overthrow > be defeated or overthrown [verb (intransitive)] > be defeated or lose
to have (also get) the worsec1275
leesec1300
lose1548
to deserve or lose the bell1600
to have the lower hand1693
to have the second best1708
to come off second best1777
skunk1867
to be dumped on1967
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > treat fraudulently, cheat [verb (transitive)]
deceivec1330
defraud1362
falsec1374
abuse?a1439
fraud1563
visure1570
cozen1583
coney-catch1592
to fetch in1592
cheat1597
sell1607
mountebanka1616
dabc1616
nigglea1625
to put it on1625
shuffle1627
cuckold1644
to put a cheat on1649
tonya1652
fourbe1654
imposturea1659
impose1662
slur1664
knap1665
to pass upon (also on)1673
snub1694
ferret1699
nab1706
shool1745
humbug1750
gag1777
gudgeon1787
kid1811
bronze1817
honeyfuggle1829
Yankee1837
middle1863
fuck1866
fake1867
skunk1867
dead-beat1888
gold-brick1893
slicker1897
screw1900
to play it1901
to do in1906
game1907
gaff1934
scalp1939
sucker1939
sheg1943
swizz1961
butt-fuck1979
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > defraud or swindle [verb (intransitive)] > be defrauded or swindled
skunk1867
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > perpetrate (a swindle) [verb (transitive)] > defraud or swindle
defraud1362
deceivec1380
plucka1500
lurch1530
defeata1538
souse1545
lick1548
wipe1549
fraud1563
use1564
cozen1573
nick1576
verse1591
rooka1595
trim1600
skelder1602
firk1604
dry-shave1620
fiddle1630
nose1637
foista1640
doa1642
sharka1650
chouse1654
burn1655
bilk1672
under-enter1692
sharp1699
stick1699
finger1709
roguea1714
fling1749
swindle1773
jink1777
queer1778
to do over1781
jump1789
mace1790
chisel1808
slang1812
bucket1819
to clean out1819
give it1819
to put in the hole1819
ramp1819
sting1819
victimize1839
financier1840
gum1840
snakea1861
to take down1865
verneuk1871
bunco1875
rush1875
gyp1879
salt1882
daddle1883
work1884
to have (one) on toast1886
slip1890
to do (a person) in the eye1891
sugar1892
flay1893
to give (someone) the rinky-dink1895
con1896
pad1897
screw1900
short-change1903
to do in1906
window dress1913
ream1914
twist1914
clean1915
rim1918
tweedle1925
hype1926
clip1927
take1927
gazump1928
yentz1930
promote1931
to take (someone) to the cleaners1932
to carve up1933
chizz1948
stiff1950
scam1963
to rip off1969
to stitch up1970
skunk1971
to steal (someone) blind1974
diddle-
1867 Daily Cleveland (Ohio) Herald 3 Sept. You're deuced swindlers... You skunked me!
1890 C. W. Haskins Argonauts of Calif. xvii. 250 I got skunked once out of a good claim.
1914 Steam Machinery June 190/2 The worst bargain is where the buyer gets skunked and the seller goes on a tear with the swag.
1948 B. Cerf Shake well before Using ii. 49 His employer examined it [sc. a diamond ring] suspiciously and asked if it was a real diamond, ‘If it ain't,’ the clerk answered, ‘I sure been skunked out of six bits.’
1971 ‘E. Fenwick’ Impeccable People iii. 21 I'm beginning to think we skunked you over the price.
2002 Vanity Fair Apr. 224/2 He had skunked her out of a great deal of money.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1634
v.1831- misdeeming
- misdeems
- misdefine
- misdefined
- misdefines
- misdefining
- misdeformed
- misdelight
- misdeliver
- misdelivered
- misdeliveres
- misdeliveries
- misdelivering
- misdeliverred
- misdeliverring
- misdelivers
- misdelivery
- misdemean
- misdemeanant
- misdemeanants
- misdemeaned
- misdemeaning
- misdemeanist
- misdemeanor
- misdemeanors