clunker en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ˈklʌŋkɚ/ (General-American)
Etymology
From clunk + -er.
Meanings
-
(informal) A decrepit motor car.
The only rig nobody'd recognize is that clunker that Vic drove here in, and he won't take it.
2004, Teralee E. M. Bird, What the Herald Angel Sang (Seraphim Trilogy Book One)2008 July 9, Jacqueline Mitchell, “America's Most Stolen Vehicles”, in Forbes magazine, So don't think for a moment that your old but tired vehicle matters only to you. Your clunker is cash money to professional thieves.
-
(informal) Anything in poor condition or of poor quality.
I bought an old clunker of a typewriter.
1974 October 3, Erma Bombeck, “Who's Been Playing At Erma's Typewriter?”, in Ocala Star-Banner, retrieved 02 Sep 2009, page 12A:All of the stories have a subtle undercurrent of brutality, and the writing is consistently sharp, direct and darkly funny, and there’s not a clunker in the bunch.
2006, Elizabeth Crane, "Books: Best book by a Chicago author" (Review of Trouble by Patrick Somerville), Time Out Chicago, 28 Dec. (retrieved 2 Sep. 2009)It seemed silly for the crowd to applaud or groan over what you had already felt in your fingers or even in your arms as you braced to shoot or for that matter in your eyes: when he was hot he could see the separate threads wound into the strings looping the hoop. Yet at the start of the game when you came out for warm-up and could see all the town clunkers sitting in the back of the bleachers elbowing each other and the cheerleaders wisecracking with the racier male teachers, the crowd then seemed right inside you, your liver and lungs and stomach.
1960, John Updike, 'Rabbit, Run', page 34:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| klunker | alternative | lexicographic | |
| clunkers | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Synonyms
jalopy · old banger · clunker · rustbucket · banger · tin Lizzie · hooptie · flivver · bucket of bolts · shitbox · shitcan · shitpot · crate · rattletrap · wreck · crock · junker · gas guzzler · beater · shitbucket · lemon · bucket of rust · shed
Translations (37)
pl grat (decrepit motor car) · es cacharro (decrepit motor car) · nv chidíchxǫ́ʼí (decrepit motor car) · fi rotisko (decrepit motor car) · pl strucel (decrepit motor car) · bg бри́чка (decrepit motor car) · pl rupieć (anything in poor condition or of poor quality) · bg тараля́сник (decrepit motor car) · de Schrottkarre (decrepit motor car) · pl gruchot (decrepit motor car) · fi rottelo (decrepit motor car) · pl rupieć (decrepit motor car) · pt calhambeque (decrepit motor car) · el σαράβαλο (decrepit motor car) · ru драндулет (decrepit motor car) · bg тро́шка (decrepit motor car) · pl złom (anything in poor condition or of poor quality) · cs kraksna (decrepit motor car) · pl złom (decrepit motor car) · bg копто́р (decrepit motor car) · eo aŭtaĉo (decrepit motor car) · fr tacot (decrepit motor car) · fi romu (decrepit motor car) · de Klapperkiste (decrepit motor car) · bg ща́йга (decrepit motor car) · fr guimbarde (decrepit motor car) · xh isikorokoro (decrepit motor car) · pl rzęch (decrepit motor car) · bg кару́ца (decrepit motor car) · pl wrak (decrepit motor car) · es chatarra (decrepit motor car) · pl dezel (decrepit motor car) · bg тарата́йка (decrepit motor car) · ru развалюха (anything in poor condition or of poor quality) · pl grat (anything in poor condition or of poor quality) · cmn 旧车 (decrepit motor car) · hu vacak (anything in poor condition or of poor quality)