#17282
01/27/2001 7:48 PM
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These are two of my partner's favourite words to describe something slightly shabby or disreputable. I seem to have acquired them from him, and being a non-native speaker of English, I never doubted them as perfectly good English words. A friend of my partner's, however, insists that these words are not real English and he has made them up. Does anyone else know these words and use them? P.S. If the answer is "no", then we'll just have to promote their usage all over the world... they are such beautiful, expressive words! 
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#17283
01/27/2001 8:11 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dear Marianna: It seems to me that neologisms are more likely to catch on, if there is some sort of clue in their sound to suggest origin. Perhaps skanky could combine features of skunk and cranky. Manky is a bit harder. I am thinking of manicky and manque, but can't see any blending of those two.
There used to be a cliche about "Run it up the flagpole, and see if anybody salutes it." I can't quite manage a salute. wwh
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#17284
01/27/2001 8:23 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 87
journeyman
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journeyman
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Skanky - yes, I've used it and my friends use it. I find the word rather unsavory and apply it accordingly! As to "manky," haven't heard that one! In what part of the world is it being used?
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#17285
01/27/2001 8:29 PM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 130
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I've heard both the adjective skanky and the noun skank for 20+ years now. They both refer to promiscuity and uncleanliness (an unGodly combination!). As I recall they can be used in reference to 'skanks' of either sex. Manky I think is a bit newer, least 'round these parts.
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#17286
01/27/2001 8:33 PM
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Carpal Tunnel
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Skank is a steady-paced dance performed to reggae music or -- in American slang -- a decidedly disreputable person. It is quite common to make a sound-alike nonsense of the original word as a way to disparage it Skanky-manky : meaning "so you are dancing around this, it doesn't change the fact you have to face it." Or : "So this friend is a skank, makes no difference if you like her." Or : "This is an off-kilter proposition so what difference does that make to what has to be done." Skanky-manky! Those on this board with better poetic talents could probably give you more examples in this interpretation ... irreneverthelessgardless  it is one meaning I am familiar with. Any other info out there? wow
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#17287
01/27/2001 8:34 PM
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
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skanky? manky?? good heavens... I'm going to quote "A Dictionary of Slang (slang and colloquialisms of the UK)" for you: >>skanky Adj. Dirty, unnattractive, ugly, smelly << >>manky Adj. Scruffy, dirty, distasteful, disgusting. << in usage: she's a skanky, manky ol' whoor... "beautiful, expressive words" indeed.
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#17288
01/27/2001 9:15 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2000
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I'm very fond of "manky", as in "this bread looks a bit manky, I'm going to throw it out". If you had a cut and it looked like it needed antibiotics it would be "a bit manky", accompanied by screwed up face. I was going to say that a person would not be manky, only things but now I think about it someone badly in need of a bath could be described as manky.
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#17289
01/27/2001 10:30 PM
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tsuwm and DougS - I glad you's said it first, for I have never heard the word skanky describe anything but "whores".
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#17290
01/27/2001 10:51 PM
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Goodness. Our use of skanky and manky is extremely mild in comparison with the examples that have been proposed. In the same line as JMH, I'd say that potted plants start looking rather manky if you don't water them for ten days. And my boots might be skanky after a walk in a muddy area, for instance... A person wouldn't be manky... but yes, you could say someone is skanky if s/he looks unkempt, I guess. The musical connection is interesting, and I do realise now that I am familiar with that Marley song "Easy Skanking"... thanks wow. In any case, I'm glad to see more people know and use these words. And I still find them beautifully expressive, even if semantically they denote something not too pleasant!
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#17291
01/28/2001 1:42 AM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 130
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Wow's musical connection is intriguing. One of the usages I found for skank was someone who refuses to face their responsibilities. Makes sense with her skanky-manky 'dancing around the issue' premise.
I have a feeling though, that this usage started in the UK or one of the two major punk centers in the US, NYC or LA. The term skanking was appropriated from the UK based Jamaican community as early as the late 70s, possibly earlier. My punk rock buddies and I used the term skanking for dancing in Virginia, cultural backwater that it was, as early as 1979. It wouldn't surprise me if one of it's original meanings, that of smelliness or dirtiness, was used by punk rock kids to describe their nasty, sweaty selves after a night of dancing. The rest may have just evolved from there.
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#17292
01/28/2001 7:08 AM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
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Whoa! Skank has two musical meanings that I know of, one "old" as Wow describes, and another right up to date. Skank bands are bands which combine sophistication and technical expertise with a certain basic grittiness (which is probably why "skank"). Steely Dan is MY skank band. The other meaning of skank was (and maybe still is) sexually dirty, messy, fetishy. A friend of mine who works for the censor here once said that a lot of "skank" porno is crossing their desks. He wasn't carrying any samples with him  , but the way he described it, it is the antithesis of the "glamour" type of porn that you get in Playboy - it's messy and down and dirty. Maybe it's an indicator of the quality of the photography or something. I rather shudder to think of the alternatives ... I've never looked "manky" up in the dictionary, but I've only ever heard it used here by non-Americans and it is usually used to mean pretty much what jmh says.
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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#17293
01/28/2001 10:52 AM
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Carpal Tunnel
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Manky is also one of my father's favourite words and has pretty much the same meaning as jo gives it, but with the added overtone of smelling rather high. Old cheese, or socks that have been worn rather too long would be typical referents.
Bingley
Bingley
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#17294
01/28/2001 6:14 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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RE: "these words are not real English and he has made them up."
It is my personal (perhaps heretical) belief that dictionaries are ultimately descriptive rather than prescriptive. That is, the language comes from the people, and if the people want to use the word "skanky" to mean unclean and promiscuous (which is how my peers and I use the word), and if a reasonable number of people within earshot understand the word, then the word is "real." Either a word catches on or it doesn't. If it becomes widely used on it gains "legitimacy" and ultimately enters the dictionary. [end of rant] :)
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#17295
01/28/2001 8:12 PM
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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RE: "these words are not real English and he has made them up."
well, as we've seen, this was an ill-considered opinion with regard to these words; in fact, manky is already in the OED and has only been coarsened in slang -- perhaps skanky in the nasty sense comes from rhyming slang.
manky - Bad, inferior, defective; dirty.
Possibly influenced by Fr. manqué.
-joe (don't say hanky-panky to an OP) friday
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#17296
01/29/2001 12:01 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
old hand
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old hand
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On the spur of the moment, what about a little contest: Who knows a word ending in ..nky that has a positive meaning ?
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#17297
01/29/2001 1:19 PM
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
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swanky. And if you're into SM, spanky.
TEd
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#17298
01/29/2001 1:29 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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i know the word skanky-- but used to define beer that has gone bad-- either the stuff left over in the keg-- that you think might be drinkable-- or some beer you left at the summer house last fall-- that you convince yourself might be drinkable since its been "chilled' all winter in the unheated house--
you open the can/bottle-- and ugh!-- skanky beer! smells bad-- worse, vile, putrid-- enough to put you off beer for a while...
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#17299
01/29/2001 2:31 PM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 130
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Personal favorite: Funky, as in "Daaamn, that's a funky beat!"
Some of our younger female posters may use hunky to describe a good looking man.
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#17300
01/29/2001 2:34 PM
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Posts: 427
addict
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addict
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...hunky, kinky...  ==> winky
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#17301
01/29/2001 4:09 PM
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Posts: 1,289
veteran
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veteran
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#17302
01/29/2001 4:17 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
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old hand
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I always thought that "skank", as a dance, followed the word "ska", to describe the music which is being danced to. Ska is kind of a faster, more intense version of reggae (i.e. not as laid back) with lots of "horns" (trumpets, trombones, saxophones) and a strong offbeat. This music is the precursor of reggae, and still exists in various updated forms today.
Anyway, when I go to ska shows, I "skank", or I am "skanking". This is a specific sort of dance where you kind of look like you are running on the spot, and you exaggerate your arms and leg motions, all in time with the music. And if you want to go all out then you dress a certain way, too, and then you're a "rude boy" or a "rude girl".
(My husband was in a ska band so this is why I know this!)
Does anyone know if the name of the dance spawned the name of the music, or the other way around?
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#17303
01/29/2001 7:41 PM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 130
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Bean, I remember an old Jamaican song called "Do the Ska" (in the song it was pronounced sk'YAH), can't remember the artist (Jackie Mitoo, maybe?). Anyway, I always assumed there was some link there. Interesting to note that skank is often pronounced sk'YAHNK in Jamaican patois.
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#17304
01/31/2001 4:34 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 96
journeyman
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journeyman
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Younger female posters??!!! "Hunky" Well, I am not sure I am considered "young" anymore, but I do remember using that term which also goes well with "lanky" enthusiast
enthusiast
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#17305
01/31/2001 4:42 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 96
journeyman
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journeyman
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If "skanky" is a cranky skunk, then "manky" might be a male monkey???!!!! (man + monkey) And these are two wonderful words to describe the days when my sons are the combo of all four words--male, monkey, cranky, skunk!! And then: "Run it up the flagpole, and see if anybody salutes it." I can't quite manage a salute. wwh " How about saying "its a Longshot but-------" enthusiast
enthusiast
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#17306
01/31/2001 4:45 PM
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Posts: 96
journeyman
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journeyman
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Are their any young posters who use the word "punky"???? enthusiast
enthusiast
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#17307
01/31/2001 5:20 PM
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Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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http://www.altocelebs.com/s/anna-nicole-smith/c-000106-mp-000001.jpg
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#17308
01/31/2001 5:45 PM
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Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Is that skanky, or lucky?
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#17309
01/31/2001 6:15 PM
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Posts: 2,661
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Remember the "punky QB" from Chicago? (because of his hairstyle)
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#17310
02/01/2001 1:20 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
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old hand
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All I can remember is a TERRIBLE TV show when I was little (mid-80's) about a kid named Punky Brewster, who wore too-cute overalls and bandannas around her legs. (I guess it looked punky to the producers!)
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#17311
02/02/2001 4:06 PM
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Posts: 130
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Back when I was a Punk (some great stories on the origin of that word, none too flattering) we used to view the words "punky" and "punker" with disdain. They were mosly used by "posers" (from French poseur?) who dipped into the style, but weren't really a part of the "scene".
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#17312
02/02/2001 4:19 PM
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I am older than you, Doug-- i remember when a punk was a form of insense-- a natural grass related to cat-tails that you could dry, and then light, and let smolder-- Punks-- they had a punky smell-- sort of earthy.
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#17313
02/02/2001 7:19 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
veteran
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veteran
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punky punk
Inhaling too much punk smoke would make you insensible.
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#17314
02/02/2001 7:20 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
veteran
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veteran
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Punk
and if they brought you home insensible, your mother would be highly incensed.
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#17315
02/02/2001 9:21 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Carpal Tunnel
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punk was a form of insense-- a natural grass related to cat-tails that you could dry, and then light, and let smolder
How well I remember them. We used to light them in the forlorn belief they would keep mosquitos away.
wow
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#17316
02/02/2001 10:56 PM
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Posts: 130
member
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In my youth, we would use punks to light off fireworks on the Fourth of July. They came in those pre-packaged fireworks kits you could buy from roadside stands. They looked like incense sticks, smelled like burning sawdust.
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#17317
02/04/2001 1:23 PM
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Posts: 866
old hand
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old hand
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Dunno about skanky, but my great aunt (who'd be more than a hundred if she was still alive) had manky in her vocabulary. The context was "a little tatty" or in need of repair.
stales
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#17318
02/05/2001 10:43 AM
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Posts: 444
addict
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positive ...nkyDinky? Possibly positivity may vary with context and tone of voice... Drinky? Possibly positivity.... ...but I'm usually prepared to look on it favourably slinky
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#17319
02/05/2001 4:09 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
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Dinky - three meanings come to mind:
(1) The much-loved brand name of small metal model cars which were available when I was a kid. Bought out by Matchbox Toys sometime in the late 60s and killed off I understand. Now worth a small fortune each to gullectors if they're in good nick.
(2) A slighting false-positive adjective to describe anything, usually used in sarcasm (but not always) as in "Well, isn't that dinky?"
(3 "Double Income No Kids Yet"
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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#17320
02/05/2001 11:05 PM
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dinky also describes something that has been put together too fast and looks like is about to fall apart. Sort of in the same vein as slipshod.
Ooo CapK, I used to love getting those little Dinky cars. My mom had signed us up to get one per month. We still have most of them some 30 years later but have been manhandled by seven kids, and the subsequent generation, the paint jobs did not survive very well.
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#17321
02/06/2001 11:04 AM
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Posts: 444
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Dinky - three meanings come to mind
I did wonder about the relevance of 'dinky-di' - I thought most people who used it would do so in a positive sense.
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