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Tonk

adj, intj, name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Big, muscular, massive. UK, slang

    "In this new paradigm of masculine excellence, anyone can achieve physical perfection if they put in the hours. It is an aspirational narrative, accompanied by a specific vernacular. Men are hench, wammo or tonk. […] Whereas the vest-wearing action stars of the 80s needed physical strength to hoik themselves into lift shafts and avert terrorism, today’s uber-tonk males wear their six-packs like beautiful, pointless feathers: this is a cosmetic muscularity, rather than a functional one."

Intj
  1. 1
    Representing a sound produced by knocking on something hollow.

    "In one of those stampings into the yard he suddenly rushed at the tank and tapped it. Tonk, tonk, tonk, tab. One rung left. Only one rung; about a week's supply of water."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A district of Rajasthan, India.
Noun
  1. 1
    An illegal immigrant of any country. US, derogatory, slang

    "1990: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary, Confirmation Hearings on Federal Appointments: Hearings Before the Committee - An agent, Larry Moy, when asked to define the derivation of the term “tonk,” replied: “...it's the sound of flashlight hitting somebody's head, tonk". [This "derivation" is incorrect - see Etymology]"

  2. 2
    An item or items of value, or of perceived value, especially for sale. countable, slang, uncountable

    "How much tonk have we got to shift?"

  3. 3
    A matching card game, combining features of knock rummy and conquian. uncountable

    "It has big deep-down chairs and a card table by the window covered with jade, dracena and doctor plants until they want to have card games or play tonk between themselves."

  4. 4
    A sound produced by knocking on something hollow.
  5. 5
    A tank. slang
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    A Tonkinese cat.
  2. 7
    A resounding strike of the ball; a powerful hit of the ball with the bat. colloquial
Verb
  1. 1
    To knock or strike (a ball) so that it flies through the air. colloquial, transitive

    "Then your dad would step up and spend 45 minutes repeatedly tonking the ball over the shower block […]"

Etymology

Etymology 1

Origins are unknown, but definitely predate the use of metal flashlights, contrary to the most quoted description of origin. It is probable that the origin relates to Chinese immigration, as the first law to restrict immigration from a particular country was enacted in 1882 to limit the numbers of Chinese coming to the United States. It is said that many of the illegal immigrants made their way to the US via the Gulf of Tonkin area of what is now Vietnam. It is also possible that the term is related to the Chinese "tong" mob.

Etymology 2

Compare Tagalog tong-its, Ilocano tong-it, Pangasinan tung-it.

Etymology 3

Onomatopoeic.

Etymology 4

Onomatopoeic.

Etymology 5

Onomatopoeic.

Etymology 6

Alteration of tank.

Etymology 7

Contraction of Tonkinese.

See also for "tonk"

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