What does "funk" mean?
Funk: To emit an offensive smell; to stink.
Additional senses
- 2.To be frightened, and shrink back; to flinch; as, to funk at the edge of a precipice. [Colloq.] C. Kingsley. To funk out, to back out in a cowardly fashion. [Colloq.] To funk right out o' political strife. Lowell (Biglow Papers).
- 3.A shrinking back through fear. [Colloq.] "The horrid panic, or funk (as the men of Eton call it)." De Quincey.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00