
A page from Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!
Image: Random House
A.Word.A.Daywith Anu Garg
crunk
PRONUNCIATION:
MEANING:
adjective:
1. Intoxicated.
2. Crazy.
3. Excited.
4. Wonderful.
ETYMOLOGY:
Of uncertain origin. Possibly a nonstandard past tense of crank, a variation of drunk, or a blend of crazy + drunk. Earliest documented use: 1972.
NOTES:
The first recorded use of crunk appears in Dr. Seuss’s 1972 book Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! where it describes a strange vehicle. This early usage seems unrelated to the later senses of the word. The word is also the name of a hip-hop subgenre, characterized by heavy bass call-and-response chants, and accelerated tempos.