We were skunked this week at our house. Well, I thought that's what we were when the cat came tearing in in the morning reeking of skunk. He'd obviously thought that this was another critter he could catch. Instead, he got sprayed. We bought the magic elixir called "Skunk Off" from the vet's and got the "pong" toned down almost by 90%. He still carries with him a supcon de skunk. Meanwhile, the house also shared this lovely smell, just from his having passed through it before he was flung into the garage.

Later I thought to look up the word "skunked" to see if we had been. The answer, from dictionary.com, surprised me:
tr.v. skunked, skunk·ing, skunks Slang

1. To defeat overwhelmingly, especially by keeping from scoring.
2.
1. To cheat (someone).
2. To fail to pay (an amount due).

We were defeated temporarily. We were cheated out of a normal smelling home, but we did not fail to pay and pay and pay for our cat's sins.

How does the literal "to be sprayed by a horrendous-smelling defensive natural oil produced by an evil little rodent" translate into "to defeat overwhelmingly?"

Wordmatic, who has never before known a cat so stupid as to tangle with a skunk--only several dogs.

Isn't the expression hyperbolic? One is left as untouchable as someone who has been sprayed by said striped-tailed chemical weapon with feet?

So far, my two cats have been intelligent enough to avoid tackling several dogs, as well as skunks. But as far as we know, skunks are not among the natural fauna of my neighborhood.

By the way, I've been wondering for ages and ages about the meaning of hyperbole.

I had also heard the expression applied to US and Canadian "beers" (I use the term in its broadest possible sense) which develop foul flavours if they are left to warm up. Or possibly, it is simply that, as they warm up, the true horror of their chemical nastiness becomes fully apparent.

I have never heard the expression used in the UK, probably because:

1. We have no skunks and
2. Proper beer doesn't start to taste nasty when it warms up.

Probably the reason there is no word for having your house permeated by a malodorous skunk is you either know what the smell is like or you don't, in which case no word will describe it adequately.

In addition to the other definitions, skunked, along with the longer drunk as a skunk describe inebriation. Can't say I've ever seen a real drunk skunk, though. Only humans.

I also think the "to be beaten decisively" aspect is from the game of cribbage, where losing by a certain number of pegs is to be skunked.

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I also think the "to be beaten decisively" aspect is from the game of cribbage, where losing by a certain number of pegs is to be skunked.

That's interesting. I was a frequent cribbage player in my youth (along with my parents and their parents). I've never heard the 'skunked' expression, but that's not unlikely since it's obviously American.

When someone lost by a distance the usual expression was beaten by a street.

I recall beaten by a street, too, Arnie. The skunked term may be regional since I never played outside this area and have no idea what they say anywhere else..

quote:

Originally posted by wordmatic:
How does the literal "to be sprayed by a horrendous-smelling defensive natural oil produced by an evil little rodent" translate into "to defeat overwhelmingly?"

Word Detective:

quote:

And because the odor of a skunk's musk is strong enough to discourage even the bravest competitor, "to skunk" has, since the 1800s, meant "to emphatically, unequivocally defeat," often used in situations where the losing party or team did not score a single point (as in "The Mets got skunked again. I'm moving to New Jersey").

By the way, skunks are not rodents (in the literal sense); they are carnivores.

And I've never played cribbage.

You make a good point, Proof, that if you haven't ever smelled it, you wouldn't be able to imagine it. My husband woke up to the smell and thought we were having an electrical fire in the house (after which, of course, he was grouchy all day) but it's actually much worse than that.

Richard, of course it comes down to beer. Bad beer. I should have known! Now I'll know what to say if I ever have a bad warm beer in Canada.

Asa, I like your explanation. Of course, the etymology of slang doesn't need to make any sense. And hyperbole makes all the sense. Though we mostly defeated this stench, it is an odor that has shaped my entire week, as I sniff suspiciously around the edges of things and whiff the collar of my jacket to make sure it has not collected an olfactory souvenir.

I know that skunks are good for eating grubs, but why they had to develop this particular defense, I can't imagine. Maybe it was just to keep us humble.

Wordmatic

Skunks don't hibernate but they do den up in cold weather. We had a couple under my front porch (unbeknownst to us) and one winter day I took the garbage can down the shoveled driveway. On the way back, I noticed a black and white cat coming down the cleared driveway and, since I didn't have my glasses on for some reason, stopped to lean down and give it a pat.
By the time it was three feet away, even with my bad vision, I knew it wasn't a cat. So I froze and the skunk ambled by, just giving me the slightest disinterested glance, and disappeared down the street. Don't bother them, they won't bother you.

quote:

Richard, of course it comes down to beer. Bad beer. I should have known! Now I'll know what to say if I ever have a bad warm beer in Canada.

Of course!

And if you have a bad warm beer in Canada then it will be one of the chemical fizz creations of the likes of Molson. Stick to Unibraue and other brewers of bottle-conditioned beers and you'll be OK - even it they get warm they are still quite drinkable.

UNC (University of North Carolina) scientists say photodegradation of the hops in beer produces "skunky thiol."

quote:

"Hops help flavor beer, inhibit bacterial growth and are largely responsible for the stability of the foam in the head," Forbes said. "Hops, however, are light-sensitive, and the three main compounds in them identified as being light-sensitive are called isohumulones. When attacked by either visible or ultraviolet light, these break down to make reactive intermediates known as free radicals that lead to the offensive taste and skunky odor."

quote:

and other brewers of bottle-conditioned beers

It is odd, and it’s strange, even queer
That no matter the topic that’s here,
It begins in one way
But by end of the day,
The subject discussed here is beer.

That's one of your more astute ones, Proofreader!

Getting down to the origin of the word "skunk," I found this on Wikipedia:

quote:

The singular musk-spraying ability of the skunk has not escaped the attention of biologists: the names of the family and the most common genus (Mephitidae, Mephitis) mean "stench", and Spilogale putorius means "stinking spotted weasel". The word skunk is a corruption of an Abenaki name for them, segongw or segonku, which means "one who squirts" in the Algonquian dialect.

And the smell:

quote:

Skunk spray is composed mainly of low molecular weight thiol compounds,[4] namely (E)-2-butene-1-thiol, 3-methyl-1-butanethiol, and 2-quinolinemethanethiol, as well as acetate thioesters of each of these.[5][6] These compounds are detectable at concentrations of about 2 parts per million.

I'll say!

Wordmatic

quote:

Originally posted by tinman:
UNC (University of North Carolina) scientists say photodegradation of the hops in beer produces "skunky thiol."

I loved this article--especially the comments!

WM

quote:

It is odd, and it’s strange, even queer
That no matter the topic that’s here,
It begins in one way
But by end of the day,
The subject discussed here is beer.

Since beer is the world's favourite drink
That's not quite so strange as you think.
Though wine is quite fine
The world's choicest vine
Is the hop (though it can sometimes stink).

quote:

Mephitis

Any relation to mephistopheles? Does the devil stink?

Here, Richard, drink this: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081112/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_b...PBa1OtzsFd2u4CrtiBIF

It sounds like a decent drink. I must try a pint of it when I visit BC next year.

Wow, Asa, you brought back memories of "mephitis." That was one of my first questions here on Wordcraft.