A.Word.A.Day --skunkworks

A.Word.A.Day

Home

words

Dec 30, 2024

This week’s theme
Words coined in comic strips and cartoons

This week’s words
skunkworks
sad sack
embiggen
Lower Slobbovia

Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works hangar
Palmdale, California

Photo: Bernardo Malfitano / Wikimedia

Previous week’s theme
No el

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

I grew up devouring comic books like they were candy, savoring every colorful panel and clever punchline. It was a melting pot of adventures, from India’s Chacha Choudhary (whose brain was said to work faster than a computer) to the swashbuckling exploits of Phantom, the mystifying illusions of Mandrake, and the ever-thoughtful musings of Buz Sawyer. Of all these characters, Buz Sawyer was my favorite -- his sharp wit and reflective nature always kept me coming back for more.

It’s no surprise that comic strips, with their knack for blending humor and relatability, have snuck a few words into the English lexicon. This week, we’ll look at five such words.

Also see, a previous week of words coined in single-panel cartoons.

skunkworks

PRONUNCIATION:

(SKUNGK-wurks)

MEANING:

noun: A small, loosely structured corporate research and development unit or subsidiary formed to foster innovation.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Skonk Works, a fictional facility in Al Capp’s comic strip Li’l Abner that processed dead skunks, old shoes, kerosene, and other odd ingredients. Earliest documented use: 1960.

NOTES:

The term gained real-world application in 1960 when Lockheed Martin used it to describe a secretive unit tasked with developing advanced fighter planes. The facility, located near a plastic factory with an acrid odor, inspired an engineer to nickname it Skonk Works, later adapted to Skunkworks. The term now symbolizes agile, creative problem-solving in corporate or engineering environments.

USAGE:

“The company’s skunkworks, for example, are decentralised to encourage innovation, but its accountants are centralised. ‘We don’t want highly innovative accountants,’ says Motorola’s Mr Canavan.”
Partners in Wealth; The Economist (London, UK); Jan 21, 2006.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. -L.P. Hartley, writer (30 Dec 1895-1972)

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise