by Maureen Blevins
It's January. Time to hunker!
hunker * squat or crouch down low (verb) * take shelter in a defensive position
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| He's hunkering |
I wondered about that word - hunker. We get told to 'hunker down' during storms and bad weather. Or a long siege. Seems to me we've all done a lot of 'hunkering down' these past couple of years. The first use of this word was in 1720 in Scotland. According to the dictionary, it probably came from the Dutch or the German. And if you hunkered down with success, everything became 'hunky-dory'.
Note: It does not mean to search for a good-looking man (as in a 'hunk'). To Hunker - go in search of a hunk? eg: Ladies, let's go hunker at the hardware store. But I digress.
It seems that lately hunker has become somewhat of an old fashioned term. One that has been replaced by 'shelter in place'. I don't know about you, but I think I'd rather hunker. It sounds tough. Cowboys hunkered - and they were our heroes. They were tough. They could 'hunker' and make it through whatever disaster befell them. This new version - shelter in place - sounds, I don't know, so millennial, so yuppee, so - soft (although I'm not sure the term yuppee is used much either these days). And is there a word for the after effects of sheltering in place? When all is right again? It's hunky-dory.
If cowboys and our grandparents could hunker, it's good enough for me.
With (ohmygodisitevergoingtogoaway) covid still rampant and temperatures in the very low teens or less, it's time to hunker. Although I may venture out to the hardware store - for supplies.
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| Deer hunker... |
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| Make sure you're well stocked when hunkering |
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| Preferred hunkering activity |
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| Happy 'hunkering'. |
As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint.
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