Talk:hinky

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Latest comment: 13 years ago by Dbfirs in topic Etymology of hinky
Jump to navigation Jump to search

This entry has survived Wiktionary's verification process.

Please do not re-nominate for verification without comprehensive reasons for doing so.


Is this defined correctly? Specific to a particular region? --Connel MacKenzie 07:30, 14 November 2006 (UTC)Reply

It looks mostly correct to me, although I think I will rework the "acting in a manner as if having something to hide, or seemingly crooked" part, which is a bit too specific and strikes me as the original definer's reading too much into one particular usage. I might also list bizarre, demented, and/or depraved as additional defining synonyms.
It's definitely a slang term. I'm not aware of it being particular to a certain region.
I know it from the novels of Carl Hiaasen (who is a Floridian, if that says anything); he uses it all the time. —scs 17:17, 14 November 2006 (UTC)Reply
I just checked, and it's in my computer's online copy of the Oxford American Dictionary, with a compatible definition. (The etymology given is "Origin 1950s: of obscure origin".) So it's definitely a word. —scs 04:17, 15 November 2006 (UTC)Reply

RFV passed. Should some of the senses be marked as new? DAVilla 16:59, 17 December 2006 (UTC)Reply


Etymology of hinky

[edit]

Might it be related to the German and Dutch hinken, "to limp"? A bit like how "dodgy" or "shifty" have overtones relating to how someone moves? Cheers, -- Erik Anderson 64.125.103.252 18:25, 25 August 2009 (UTC)Reply

The article currently suggests a Scots derivation, but hink#Scots lists the meaning as "to think", which seems unconnected to the meaning of hinky here. Anyone else have any thoughts / citations / etc.? -- Eiríkr Útlendi | Tala við mig 03:41, 20 January 2011 (UTC)Reply
The OED disagrees with our entry, suggesting that the word came from African-American usage, probably via hincty or hinkty (why don't we have entries for these?) I very much doubt the accuracy of our entry, but we do need more evidence to be sure. I've changed the questionable "probably" to "possibly", and added the OED's guess. The OED researched this in 2006, but didn't come to a firm conclusion. If there is a British link, then it is more likely to be via Old Norse "hinka" (to limp or hobble), hence the Scots, German and Dutch connections. Dbfirs 10:55, 31 January 2011 (UTC)Reply