skunked

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

skunked

1. simple past and past participle of skunk

Adjective

skunked (comparative more skunked, superlative most skunked)

1. (slang) Intoxicated by alcohol or recreational drugs.
2. (slang) Having caught no fish at all when on a fishing trip.
3. (slang) Having seen no birds at all when on a birding trip.
   • 2003, Kenn Kaufman, City Birding: True Tales of Birds and Birdwatching in Unexpected Places, page 47:

     It no longer mattered that I had been skunked in the marsh. I had prevailed on the ponds.

4. (of beer) Ruined by poor storage or exposure to light.

   We found some skunked beer in the abandoned cabin, but it was not worth drinking.

5. (of a word or phrase) Transitioning to a new meaning or usage and potentially controversial.
   • 2000, Bryan A. Garner, “skunked terms”, in The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style, page 306:

     A word is most hotly disputed in the middle part of this process: any use of it is likely to distract some readers. The new use seems illiterate to Group 1; the old use seems odd to Group 2. The word has become “skunked.”

Derived terms

• skunked term