noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
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"The beaſts of offence be Squunckes, Ferrets, Foxes, vvhoſe impudence ſometimes drives them to the good vvives Hen rooſt, to fill their Paunch: ſome of theſe be blacke; their furre is of much eſteeme."
"In the early 1980s, certain ex-punks joined them, becoming 'skunks' – a hybrid subculture of skinheads and punks."
"In fact, the term he applied to this species of human being was "skunk," and he used it freely."
"On the other hand, many critics contend that in terms of literary quality, many of the multiple-storyline books are true skunks."
"I skunked him at cards."
"I almost stepped on a skunk last night."
Any of various small mammals, of most genera 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.
Common synonyms include: animal, animal, antelope, ape, armadillo, bar.
I almost stepped on a skunk last night.
Pronounced /skʌŋk/.
From an unattested Southern New England Algonquian word, cognate with Abenaki segôgw, segonku (“he who squirts (musk) / urinates”), from Proto-Algonquian *šeka·kwa, from *šek- (“to urinate”). Doublet of Chicago.
Blend of skinhead + punk, influenced by the animal (Etymology 1).
From skunkweed (“certain highly aromatic marijuana”).