meaning - Where does "funk" and/or "funky" come from and why the ...

The slang term 'funky' in black communities originally referred to strong body odor, and not to 'funk,' meaning fear or panic. The black nuance seems to derive from the Ki-Kongo lu-fuki, 'bad body odor,' and is perhaps reinforced by contact with fumet, 'aroma of food and wine,' in French Louisiana.

What is the origin of the phrase "hunky dory"?

Nobody really knows. There's no agreed derivation of the expression 'hunky-dory'. It is American and the earliest example of it in print that I have found is from a collection of US songs, George Christy's Essence of Old Kentucky, 1862. We do know that 'hunky-dory' wasn't conjured from nowhere but was preceded by earlier words, i.e. 'hunkey', meaning 'fit and healthy' and 'hunkum-bunkum ...

Where does the slang word "bad" + "ass" (badass) come from?

What is the origin of the word badass? Why a "bad" ass/"bad" + "ass"? What is an ass that is bad and how can an ass that is bad describe a tough person?

"Who of you" vs "which of you" - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

The funky gibbon The two long 'o's in 'who' and 'you' are separated by a single short word also beginning with 'o'. Moreover, there are no hard consonants or sibilants to break up the phrase. When spoken therefore, the overall sonic effect is "oo-o-yoo", or perhaps something like "oo-a-yoo", depending on pronunciation.

Substitute for F*** in emphasizing disbelief, anger, etc

How do I replace F*** while expressing fully my disbelief, anger, etc? E.g., "I think Homer Simpson is incredibly sexy" My reply "Get out of here! That's f***ing ridiculous."

What does “bupkes” mean? - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

The site also shows photos of USB attached to plastic bagel models. What does bupkes mean? Is it a flash memory in a bagel shape as described in bageldrive.com? Does it pass as the generic term of flash memory? Besides, I wonder why CIA takes bother of using such a funky shape of all flash memories to provide data to the requester.

A word to describe an excessively formal process or procedure

I'm looking for a single word that can describe that a given process is overly formal in the sense that it requires plenty of steps or involves myriad subprocesses. For instance, some company is ab...

Word that means "to fill the air with a bad smell"?

The air was still foul with the smell of dead animals. foul 1 offensive to the senses, esp. through having a disgusting smell or taste or being unpleasantly soiled : a foul odor | his foul breath. ... 3 containing or charged with noxious matter; polluted : foul, swampy water. New Oxford American Dictionary Here are a few usage examples from Google Books: Even though we were at least ten miles ...

Origin of current slang usage of the word 'sick' to mean 'great'?

My favourite is how "dank", which means something like "damp, smelly and disgusting" came to have a positive meaning, because that's exactly what happened to "funky" decades earlier, which has a very similar meaning. (Probably, in both cases, because of cannabis).

meaning in context - Is "catch up" used in formal language as in "We ...

I wrote "we will catch up sometime" to one of my new friends. When I searched the Internet I found that people used it in informal situations. Is it okay to use this in formal writing as I did sinc...