punk, n.¹ & adj.² meanings, etymology and more | Oxford English Dictionary
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Revised 2007 More entries for "punk"

punknoun1 & adjective2

Quotations

Contents

Earlier version

  1. noun
    1. I.
      Senses denoting types of person.
      1. I.1.
        a1575–
        A prostitute. Now rare (historical in recent use).
        1. a1575
          Soe fellowes, if you be drunke, of ffrailtye itt is a sinne, as itt is to keepe a puncke.
          Old Simon the Kinge in J. W. Hales & F. J. Furnivall, Bishop Percy's Folio Manuscript (1867) 127
        2. 1596
          He hath a Punck (as the Pleasant Singer cals her).
          T. Lodge, Wits Miserie 63
        3. 1605
          Chinck males [read makes], the punck wanton and the Bawd to winke.
          1st Part Jeronimo sig. Bii
        4. a1616
          She may be a Puncke: for many of them, are neither Maid, Widow, nor Wife.
          W. Shakespeare, Measure for Measure (1623) v. i. 178
        5. 1673
          The fluttering vain Gallant in London..on Punk and on Bawd spends his youth and his wealth.
          T. Shadwell, Epsom-Wells 43
        6. 1706
          Punks, Strolers, Market Dames.
          E. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus vol. II. ii. 25
        7. 1786
          Like a poor pilloried punk, he bawled.
          ‘P. Pindar’, Lyric Odes for 1785 (new edition) iii. 12
        8. 1819
          A squeeze of the hand from a great man, or a smile from a Punk of Quality.
          J. Keats, Letter 14 February (1931) vol. II. 329
        9. 1846
          Well satisfied ye seek the ‘truckle bed’, or ‘stagger to some punk’.
          New Swell's Night Guide 20
        10. c1890
          At London I at first took fancy again for women in the suburbs, punks who would let me have them for half a crown.
          My Secret Life vol. VI. xv. 349
        11. 1928
          It amused him to hear the cast-off locutions of duchesses in the mouth of this ageing prostitute... The poor super~annuated punk was so gruesome.
          A. Huxley, Point Counter Point xxix. 478
        12. 1937
          Just once in his life to know that it wasn't some punk he was with, but a pure girl, giving herself to him.
          M. Levin, Old Bunch 439
        13. 1974
          [They] tell me you pitched a party with some punk named Bess, tell me you bought that no-good whore-dress.
          B. Jackson, Get your Ass in Water 119
        14. 1983
          She turns honest and manages to wed her original seducer, who is bitter at being forced to marry his punk.
          A. M. Haselkorn, Prostitution Eliz. & Jacobean Comedy 21
        historical
        1. I.2.a.
          1698–
          Originally: †a boy or young man kept by an older man as a (typically passive) sexual partner, a catamite (obsolete). Later: a man who is made use of as a sexual partner by another man, esp. by force or coercion. Now chiefly Prison slang.
          †to make a punk of: to make (a man) the passive partner in homosexual intercourse (obsolete).
          1. 1698
            The Beaus..At night make a Punk of him that's first drunk.
            Womens Complaint to Venus (MS Rawlinson 159) f. 32
          2. 1761
            Augustus Cæsar owed his first prefirment to having been p—k to Hirtius in his youth.
            Genuine Mem. Late Celebrated Jane D****s v. 23
          3. 1827
            This was the tomb of Alexander..Who went on plundering, burning, stabbing, Carouzing, catamiting, drabbing, Kept a Castrato for his punk.
            W. Crowe, Lewesdon Hill (revised edition) 165
          4. 1904
            Punk,..a pervert.
            ‘No. 1500’, Life in Sing Sing 251/1
          5. 1912
            A punk's a boy that'll..Give himself to a man.
            A. Berkman, Prison Mem. Anarchist ii. x. 170
          6. 1912
            The dump's chuckful of punks. It's done in every prison, an' on th' road, everywhere.
            A. Berkman, Prison Mem. Anarchist ii. x. 172
          7. 1958
            The punk..submits to the importunities of the more active, aggressive homosexuals without displaying the outward signs of femininity in other aspects of his behavior.
            G. M. Sykes, Society of Captives v. 96
          8. 1977
            The involuntary homosexuals tend to be good-looking young men..forced into becoming jailhouse ‘punks’ by older men serving long sentences.
            New Yorker 24 October 64/3
          9. 2001
            If he is small and weak, he may decide to become a ‘punk’ and allow himself to be raped by the inmate most likely to protect him.
            J. T. Hallinan, Going up River ix. 106
          colloquial and slang
        2. I.2.b.
          1907–
          U.S. slang. A young male companion of a tramp, esp. one who is kept for sexual purposes. Cf. gunsel n. 1.
          1. 1907
            A boy on The Road..is a road-kid or a ‘punk’.
            J. London, Road vii. 173
          2. 1926
            The ‘punks’, young bums, were sent for ‘mickies’, bottles of alcohol.
            J. Black, You can't Win (1927) x. 129
          3. 1973
            They [sc. hoboes]'d pick up youngsters as, well—as their playthings. These kids were called punks.
            B. Broadfoot, Ten Lost Years x. 137
          4. 2002
            I knew a boomer tramp, an old man like you... He called me his punk. You know what that means? He liked me.
            J. A. Jackson, Badger Games 234
          U.S. Englishcolloquial and slang
        3. I.2.c.
          1933–
          U.S. slang. derogatory. Now chiefly in African American usage: a homosexual man.
          Quot. 1935 is from a glossary of criminal slang, and may belong at sense A.I.2a.
          1. 1933
            Look here, you punk. Whatever it is you're doing to that boy—I don't know. But you'd better cut it out damn soon or I'll have you locked up!
            Broadway Tattler November 15/1
          2. 1935
            Punk, a male homosexual.
            American Speech vol. 10 19/2
          3. 1945
            I know you don't represent the average intellectual softy. Or punk.
            J. Kerouac, Letter 6 September in Selected Letters 1940–56 (1995) 94
          4. 1964
            We used to chase that kind of frail little sissy-punk down Raymond Boulevard.
            A. Baraka, Slave in Dutchman & Slave i. 53
          5. 1980
            Some men dey jus' like bitches. Dem punks is righteously fucked up in dey haid. Dey more like women den a young lady.
            E. A. Folb, Runnin' down some Lines iv. 161
          6. 1999
            I'm no fruiter..no faggot..no punk.
            E. Bunker, Mr. Blue 146
          African American Englishcolloquial and slangderogatory
      3. I.3.
        U.S. slang.
        1. I.3.a.
          1904–
          (a) A person of no account; a despicable or contemptible person; (broadly) a person, a fellow (rare) (b) a petty criminal; a hoodlum, a thug.
          The sense intended by the nickname in quot. 1893 is not clear; cf. sense A.I.2b.
          1. [1893
            Blinky was a full-fledged tramp, he had served an apprenticeship of six long years as ‘Punk’ Morgan's ‘kid’, accompanying him in all his vagrant wanderings, sharing with him all the pleasures and privations of tramp-life.
            Nassau Literary Magazine November 274]
          2. 1904
            (Cartoonist TAD shows how a piker feels when the first race takes his dollar) The poor punk that lost.
            T. A. Dorgan in New York Evening Journal 2 May 10 (cartoon caption)
          3. 1904
            All kinds of swell punks wid dere gals downstairs and up in de bleachers.
            T. A. Dorgan in New York Evening Journal 3 October 10/3
          4. 1908
            He [sc. a police officer] said the prisoner called them ‘punk’... He [sc. the prisoner] admitted that he shouted ‘punk’ to them.
            New York Times 18 October 9/4
          5. 1930
            ‘Listen to me, you big punk!’ he growled ominously. ‘What do you think we are—a lot of fools?’
            Saturday Evening Post 26 July 146/2
          6. 1933
            This fellow was just a punk..a nobody.
            E. Hemingway, Winner take Nothing 94
          7. 1963
            There was nothing so special about the gang, punks are punks.
            T. Pynchon, V. vi. 145
          8. 1978
            ‘Uh—think you've come to the wrong place. Hasn't he?’..‘You bet the punk has.’
            J. Updike, Coup vi. 246
          9. 2004
            I'm making damn sure that fucking punk who ran him off the road goes to prison.
            J. MacLean, Rosemary & Juliet 115
          U.S. Englishcolloquial and slang
        2. I.3.b.
          1939–
          A coward; a weakling. Cf. punk v.1 2.
          1. 1939
            ‘Don't know who you're fighting yet?’..‘B-be someone g-good, of c-course.’..‘Yeah... They don't have no punks on there.’
            ‘J. Curtis’, There ain't no Justice 159
          2. 1950
            Do you think a little thing like a scratch would bother me? I'm no punk.
            H. Ellison, Tomboy (1952) 12
          3. 1964
            They goad their boyfriends into fighting to prove they're not ‘punks’.
            K. Hanson, Rebels in Streets i. 11
          4. 2003
            You wasn't no punk, either... You knew how to hold yours.
            S. Jones, Bridge 193
          U.S. Englishcolloquial and slang
      4. I.4.
        U.S. slang.
        1. I.4.a.
          1923–
          An amateur; an apprentice.
          1. [1920
            Punk: or the amateur rehearsal: a ridiculum in one act.
            H.C. Smith (title) ]
          2. 1923
            Punk, an amateur.
            New York Times 9 September vii. 2/1
          3. 1935
            Punk..on the circus lot..means a novice.
            American Speech vol. 10 19/2
          4. 1942
            Punk, a boy or any young man not yet professionally dry behind the ears.
            American Speech vol. 17 223/2
          5. 1964
            At the very bottom, comparable to the Army recruit, are the apprentices—called ‘punks’.
            G. Talese, Bridge iv. 48
          6. 1989
            A punk..is what ironworkers call an apprentice.
            E. Leonard, Killshot 96
          artsU.S. Englishcolloquial and slang
        2. I.4.b.
          1926–
          A young person, or a person regarded as inexperienced or raw. Also: a young circus animal. Cf. earlier punk adj.2
          1. 1926
            Punk, a baby lion or other young animal.
            American Speech vol. 1 282
          2. 1926
            Punk, child in show business.
            G. H. Maines & B. Grant, Wise-crack Dictionary 12/1
          3. 1927
            We finally appointed Johnnie, who was only a little ‘punk’, as caretaker of the cave.
            F. M. Thrasher, Gang i. iv. 66
          4. 1939
            Punks like him—sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen years old.
            C. R. Cooper, Designs in Scarlet ii. 18
          5. 1959
            I was a punk then... Fourteen years old and just a little punk... Then I began to fill out. I ain't a punk no more.
            H. Nielsen, Fifth Caller xiv. 207
          6. 1971
            At least 71, cantankerous Lizzie's trunk had been paralyzed as the result of once having overzealously disciplined a young elephant, or ‘punk’.
            Islander (Victoria, British Columbia) 19 December 6/2
          7. 2000
            The character talking to me was a little punk—this kid couldn't have been much older than me.
            M. Berry, translation of T. Chang, Wild Kids 144
          U.S. Englishcolloquial and slang
    2. II.
      Senses relating to punk rock music.
      Only in these senses widely current outside the United States.
        1. II.5.a.
          1970–
          = punk rock n. Also: the subculture or style associated with such music.
          Earliest in punk music n.
          1. 1970
            Punk music by Suicide… Sat. Oct. 10, 10 PM at Museum.
            Village Voice (New York) 8 October 39/1 (advertisement)
          2. 1972
            Who else..would have the nerve to actually begin a song with the line ‘Whatchew gonna do, mama, now that the roast beef's gone..?’ Man, that is true punk; that is so fucked up it's got class up the ass.
            L. Bangs in Creem November 68/1
          3. 1974
            I was getting a naïve kick out of watching a woman play rock-and-roll punk.
            New Yorker 20 May 142/3
          4. 1979
            The music on this record..is full of brash challenge, like the best punk.
            Time 30 July 76
          5. 1989
            They crossed over Haight Street, a strange mixture of timewarp sixties memorabilia and already-dated eighties punk.
            K. Green, Night Angel v. 54
          6. 2004
            She swore a lot and only listened to punk, like the Misfits and the Ramones and the Descendents.
            J. Meno, Hairstyles of Damned 4
          popular music
        2. II.5.b.
          1976–
          A performer or fan of punk rock; a person who adopts the style or attitude associated with punk rock.
          In terms of appearance a punk is typically characterized as having coloured spiked hair, wearing deliberately ripped clothing, and using safety pins for adornment, either as a decoration on clothing or as a piercing through the ear or nose.
          1. 1976
            He's strictly for white dopes high on punks.
            New Musical Express 24 January 20
          2. 1976
            Johnny Rotten..has the makings of a good punk.
            New Musical Express 17 April 43/1
          3. 1977
            London's growing army of punks have developed a powerful animosity for teds... For the uninitiated, punks..are the ones who match short, ragged hair with short ragged leather jackets.
            Evening News 27 April 11/1
          4. 1989
            Turn a corner in a city, and a gang of pink-haired punks hurtles in front of the child.
            A. Beattie, Picturing Will i. ix. 91
          5. 2003
            Certain punks in NYC..began sneaking elements of metal playing into their bands.
            D. DeSalvo in S. Taylor, False Prophet 74
          popular music
  2. adjective
    1. 1.
      1907–
      colloquial (originally and chiefly U.S.). (In senses A.I.3 and A.I.4.) Contemptible, despicable; thuggish; cowardly; inexperienced, raw.
      Not always distinguishable from punk adj.1 1a.
      1. 1907
        Kid pan-handlers spoke before a few high-toned charity workers and fluttering-hearted philanthropists on ‘How We'se Kids Ain't So Punk, After All’.
        Washington Post 15 December (Magazine section) 16/3
      2. 1930
        No punk copper or rube sheriff looking for a quick rep was going to put over on him an unexpected frisk.
        J. Lait, Gangster Girl 180
      3. 1938
        Of course he knew more than his punk brother Federico, but not half so much as the brother beside him, Arturo.
        J. Fante, Wait until Spring, Bandini i. 30
      4. 1950
        Punk hoodlum grabs my arms from behind,..kneeing me in the balls meanwhile.
        J. Kerouac, Letter 3 December in Selected Letters 1940–56 (1996) 240
      5. 1954
        She ain't some punk bobby-soxer.
        J. Thompson, Swell-looking Babe 82
      6. 1969
        I played you off as my punk nephew from Kansas City.
        ‘Iceberg Slim’, Pimp (new edition) 150
      7. 1990
        The punk airport rent-a-cops.
        N. DeMille, Gold Coast iii. xv. 202
      8. 1994
        How could I turn punk after having been so baad [sic] before?
        N. McCall, Makes me wanna Holler 65
      9. 2001
        Cagney..as the gangster Rocky Sullivan, plays to the hilt the older version of the kids themselves: he's what they'll be in a few years if they continue to live their punk lifestyle.
        B. Gifford, Out of Past 10
      U.S. Englishcolloquial and slang
    2. 2.
      1971–
      (In sense A.II.5.) Of, belonging to, or characteristic of punk rock or its associated subculture.
      1. 1971
        Especially those with an ear for the nice-wrought mainstream punk raunch and snidely clever lyrics.
        Rolling Stone 15 April 42/1
      2. 1976
        A typically gutsy assertion of the punk credo: we are young, we are misunderstood.
        New Statesman 17 December 884/1
      3. 1980
        This evening, he is seeing the old year out with Fred Cholera and the Pustules. They're a bit more punk than Genesis.
        B. W. Aldiss, Life in West ii. 254
      4. 1983
        Ella..had long ago decided the punk life was the one for her.
        Jinty Ann. 1984 99/1
      5. 1997
        Mood music for mutants. Abstract, rhythm impaired, and messed up in a very punk way.
        Details February 113/3
      6. 2004
        Other girls hated her..because she was punk and got away dressing that way a lot because her mom had died.
        J. Meno, Hairstyles of Damned 16
      popular music