ADS-L] the verb SKUNK in cribbage (revival)

RonButters at AOL.COM RonButters at AOL.COM
Sun Nov 19 17:30:20 UTC 2006


sorry that I did not see this sooner. I would like to add that the verb SKUNK 
is also a technical term in the game of cribbage, though I am not sure if 
this is a regionalism or not (it was used in Iowa in the 1950s). It means to win 
a game by an entire leg + one peg. There are also derivatives: DOUBLE-SKUNK 
'win a game by two entire legs +one peg; SKUNK (noun) as in "A skunk is counted 
as two games."

In a message dated 10/24/06 5:48:56 AM, m.l.murphy at SUSSEX.AC.UK writes:


> In researching today's blog entry
> (http://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2006/10/local-fauna-express
> ions-part-two.html)
> 
> I found that neither AHD nor M-W record what seems to be a fairly common
> (passive) use of the verb _to skunk_.  _To be/get skunked_ = to be sprayed
> by a skunk.  Examples:
> 
> My dog was Skunked!  <http://www.oes.org/page2/7893~My_dog_was_Skunked.html>
> 
> In the tradition of the stinky pigs, Jamie and Adam volunteered to get
> skunked in order to test various stink remedies.
> www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=2651154&page=0&v
> iew=collapsed&... -
> 
> My dog just got skunked last week so I'm ''fresh'' on skunk remedies.
> parents.berkeley.edu/advice/pets/skunked.html
> 
> 
> More meanings of _skunked_ not covered:
> 
> Passive _skunk_  to mean  'became skunky' (of a beer or wine):
> 
> Maybe bottle was skunked. Will try second bottle and hope it's better but
> it may be just an overated wine that's not worth $15. andrew.fenton wrote:
> ...
> winelibrary.com/reviewwine.asp?item=27113 - 68k
> 
> And apparently to mean 'drunk':
> 
> Oh, some hazard from Harvard was skunked on beer playin' backyard
> bombardier. is a line from which Bruce Springsteen song?
> www.mrgoodbeer.com/trivia/musictrivia.shtml - 36k
> 
> 
> And then there's this from the website for Jews for the Preservation of
> Firearms Ownership (who knew?!):
> 
> Experience teaches its lessons vividly. But when it comes to evaluating
> information that we have no personal experience with, even many educated
> adults can't tell the kitty (truth) from the skunk (propaganda and
> disinformation).
> ...
> Here are nine simple tips to avoid getting skunked by biased news.
> 
> 
> 
> The 'defeat' and 'con' meanings of the verb _skunk_ seem to be being
> extended in all sorts of ways.
> 
> Lynne
> 
> Dr M Lynne Murphy
> Senior Lecturer and Head of Department
> Linguistics and English Language
> Arts B135
> University of Sussex
> Brighton BN1 9QN
> 
> phone: +44-(0)1273-678844
> http://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> 
> 

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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