SPUNK • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Spunk

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/spəŋk/ Listen

noun

Spunk n. (Written also sponk)

Wood that readily takes fire; touchwood; also, a kind of tinder made from a species of fungus; punk; amadou.

An inflammable temper; spirit; mettle; pluck; as, a man of spunk. (Colloq.) "A lawless and dangerous set, men of spunk, and spirit, and power, both of mind and body."

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Etymology of 'Spunk'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Spunk" Quotes from Famous Books

... in trouble," was his summing up, "but let one of 'em 'ave an extry stroke of luck, and all the rest'll jaw against 'im like so many magpies." As a parting shot he declared on leaving the kitchen, "The trouble with you girls is that you ain't got no class spunk, and that's why, in sperrit, you'll never ...

— The Dust Flower • Basil King

... to laugh. "Got spunk, ain't you? Now you git down and come along with me, Pete. No use you riding back to the mesa to-night. Your dad ain't there. ...

— The Ridin' Kid from Powder River • Henry Herbert Knibbs

... spunk in her, ha'n't she, that little one?" said the miller. "She's a likely lookin' little gal, too. But I never seen any one so ...

— Hills of the Shatemuc • Susan Warner

... materialized,—spirit and will thrust into heart, brain, and backbone, so as to form part of the physical substance of the man. The feeling with which it rushes into consciousness is akin to physical sensation; and the whole body—every nerve, muscle, and drop of blood—is thrilled with purpose and passion. "Spunk" does not express it; for "spunk," besides being petite in itself, is courage in effervescence rather than courage in essence. A person usually cowardly may be kicked or bullied into the exhibition of spunk; but the man of grit carries in his presence a power which spares him the ...

— The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 15, No. 90, April, 1865 • Various

... round the apartment and plain refused to put away another woman's pots and pans. It was just spunk. I don't know that I blame her. So Belle got that low ...

— The Gorgeous Girl • Nalbro Bartley

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