SKUNK

skunk, polecat, wood pussy

(noun) American musteline mammal typically ejecting an intensely malodorous fluid when startled; in some classifications put in a separate subfamily Mephitinae

pot, grass, green goddess, dope, weed, gage, sess, sens, smoke, skunk, locoweed, Mary Jane

(noun) street names for marijuana

shutout, skunk

(noun) a defeat in a game where one side fails to score

rotter, dirty dog, rat, skunk, stinker, stinkpot, bum, puke, crumb, lowlife, scum bag, so-and-so, git

(noun) a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible; “only a rotter would do that”; “kill the rat”; “throw the bum out”; “you cowardly little pukes!”; “the British call a contemptible person a ‘git’”

lurch, skunk

(verb) defeat by a lurch

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Noun

skunk (plural skunks)

Any of various small mammals, of the family Mephitidae, native to North and Central America, having a glossy black with a white coat and two musk glands at the base of the tail for emitting a noxious smell as a defensive measure.

(slang) A despicable person.

(slang) A walkover victory in sports or board games, as when the opposing side is unable to score. Compare shutout.

(cribbage) A win by 30 or more points.

Verb

skunk (third-person singular simple present skunks, present participle skunking, simple past and past participle skunked)

To defeat so badly as to prevent any opposing points.

(cribbage) To win by 30 or more points.

(intransitive, of beer) To go bad, to spoil.

Etymology 2

Noun

skunk (plural skunks)

A member of a hybrid skinhead and punk subculture.

Etymology 3

Noun

skunk (countable and uncountable, plural skunks)

(slang) Clipping of skunkweed (marijuana).

Any of the strains of hybrids of Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica that may have THC levels exceeding those of typical hashish.

Source: Wiktionary


Skunk, n. Etym: [Contr. from the Abenaki (American Indian) seganku.] (Zoöl.)

Definition: Any one of several species of American musteline carnivores of the genus Mephitis and allied genera. They have two glands near the anus, secreting an extremely fetid liquid, which the animal ejects at pleasure as a means of defense.

Note: The common species of the Eastern United States (Mephitis mephitica) is black with more or less white on the body and tail. The spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius), native of the Southwestern United States and Mexico, is smaller than the common skunk, and is variously marked with black and white. Skunk bird, Skunk blackbird (Zoöl.), the bobolink; -- so called because the male, in the breeding season, is black and white, like a skunk.

– Skunk cabbage (Bot.), an American aroid herb (Symplocarpus foetidus) having a reddish hornlike spathe in earliest spring, followed by a cluster of large cabbagelike leaves. It exhales a disagreeable odor. Also called swamp cabbage.

– Skunk porpoise. (Zoöl.) See under Porpoise.

Skunk, v. t.

Definition: In games of chance and skill: To defeat (an opponent) (as in cards) so that he fails to gain a point, or (in checkers) to get a king. [Colloq.

Definition: U. S.]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

26 December 2024

CHATTEL

(noun) personal as opposed to real property; any tangible movable property (furniture or domestic animals or a car etc)


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Coffee Trivia

In 1884, Angelo Moriondo of Turin, Italy, demonstrated the first working example of an espresso machine.

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