unk-unk n. especially in engineering, something, such as a problem, that has not been and could not have been imagined or anticipated; an unknown unknown. Editorial Note: The Barnhart Dictionary of New English Since 1963 (Barnhart/Harper & Row, New York, 1973) gives this term as a plural and defines it as “a series of unknowns, especially of inexplicable calamities.” The term is now common as a singular and has spread from the aerospace engineering business to be used in military, government, and corporate environments. The two letter Ks are not silent as they would be in unknown, but are audible and hard, as in the end of drunk. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Mimeographs and Dittos (episode #1502) 06/24/2018: In this episode: How colors got their names, and a strange way to write. The terms blue and orange arrived in English via French, so... [more]
Spicy Jambalaya 06/18/2018: Teen slang from the South, and food words that are tricky to pronounce. • High schoolers in Huntsville, Alabama, told Martha and Grant about their... [more]
Chopped Liver 06/10/2018: There's a proverb that goes "beloved children have many names." At least, that's true when it comes to the names we give our pets. "Fluffy"... [more]
Busted Melon 06/02/2018: When writing textbooks about slavery, which words best reflect its cold, hard reality? Some historians are dropping the word slave in favor of terms like... [more]
Truth and Beauty 05/28/2018: Malamute, kayak, and parka are just some of the words that have found their way into English from the language of indigenous people in northern... [more]
You must log in to post a comment.