That thing that slowly burns continually that you light fire crackers with. It’s called a punk in this part of the world, what is it called in yours? Anyone know what the real name for it is? And why is it called a punk?
And what are punks made of? I’ve always been told it was animal dung of some sort. True???
I’m in the U.S., and I’ve never heard of anyone using a punk to light anything. I didn’t think anyone used them anymore. Here we use lighters or matches. Call me ethnocentric, but I think they’re a lot more practical than carrying around something that’s continuously burning.
I think the closest equivalent here would be “fuse” or “wick,” although neither is quite the same thing as a punk. I have no idea where the word came from.
my dad would have us use punks to light firecrackers off when we were little. i never gave them much thought, but i do remember him telling me that they repell bugs also. don’t know if it’s true, but it’s the best i could do.
Well Drainthelizard, I guess you missed out on the best part of being a kid. Punks are great!! You don’t have to worry about the wind putting them out, or a fast burning fuse setting a firework off on you hand. I haven’t seen them around this year though.
Punk is just an incense stick without any fragrance added. I don’t know, maybe they DO make them out of dung, but I really doubt it.
Then they would be dung sticks…
I think they are pretty tricky to use to light things cause you never know when they are going to light the item.
3punk noun [perh. alter. of spunk] (1687)
1 : wood so decayed as to be dry, crumbly, and useful for tinder
2 : a dry spongy substance prepared from fungi (genus Fomes) and used to ignite fuses esp. of fireworks
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The older term for punk is touchwood which dates from the late 16[sup]th[/sup] century. Punk is of U.S. origin and dates from the late 17[sup]th[/sup] century. They both refer to wood that has been converted into a dry, crumbly substance by the action of certain fungi. Klein’s Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language hazards the guess that punk is from Algonquian punk, ponk, “live ashes.”
As for their current popularity, this evening the box of fireworks we bought had three included. We lit one, it lasted all night, and it was very handy.