n. & adj.
--n.
1. a a worthless person or thing (often as a general term of abuse). b nonsense.
2 a (in full punk rock) a loud fast-moving form of rock music with crude and aggressive effects. b (in full punk rocker) a devotee of this.
3 US a hoodlum or ruffian.
4 US a passive male homosexual.
5 US an inexperienced person; a novice.
6 soft crumbly wood that has been attacked by fungus, used as tinder.
--adj.
1. worthless, rotten.
2 denoting punk rock and its associations.
Derivatives:
punky adj.
Etymology: 18th c.: orig. unkn.: cf. SPUNK