Basic Guidelines For English Spellings
READ THESE ARTICLESintransitive verb
[no object]1conk outinformal (of a machine) break down.
‘my car conked out’- ‘Of course, this has nothing to do with the absolute lack of any proper ticket inspection on the network, nor the abysmal and ancient ticket machines still conking out all over the shop.’
- ‘To add to his woes, his Switch card machine had conked out, forcing harried cashiers to put transactions through manually.’
- ‘He started door-to-door canvass on April 28 and as happened him on previous occasions, his car conked out just then.’
- ‘It looked like the car had conked out on them, and they'd just managed to ease it halfway into a parking lot before it completely gave out.’
- ‘Having driven home through mile upon mile of flooding, my car conked out.’
- ‘He told them had set sail from Long Beach to Catalina in early June, just a pleasure trip, but a storm snapped his mast, the boat's radio broke, and then the outboard motor conked out.’
- ‘Engines conk out at pivotal moments, and the boat's propellers unexpectedly start up when a diver is looking for damage, resulting in an aquatic bloodbath.’
- ‘But it's the relatively trivial things which are the most maddening and frustrating - TVs conking out, ovens going on the blink, computers crashing.’
- ‘Don't wait for your IT network to conk out.’
- ‘The engine on his plane sputters and conks out, but the propeller never stops turning.’
- ‘As his target was approached, the left engine conked out again with the piston rod crashing through the block.’
- ‘The one he's got handles batteries for lorries as well so if you're driving near Weybridge and your lorry conks out because the battery's flat we're the guys for you.’
- ‘Then if the robot conks out the agent zips around the factory's intranet to find another machine that can take over the task.’
- ‘My super pretty silver flip phone has been conking out on me, so I had to take it to my cell phone guy and get a loaner phone while mine is getting fixed.’
- ‘So here I am in front of the computer at 3am, the house silent, my whole family rejuvenating for the life which begins in a couple of hours' time, and my wireless internet connection having conked out on me.’
- ‘Now the microwave oven was pretty old and I'm not surprised it conked out, but the iron was relatively new and I hadn't been expecting it to explode in my hand for another couple of years at the earliest.’
- ‘As the water on the road was knee-deep, engines of several light vehicles conked out and commuters were stranded, blocking the movement of heavy vehicles.’
- ‘Then, on the way up a winding staircase, on the 13th step from the bottom, my flashlight just conked out.’
- ‘At a little after midnight, the generator conked out yet again.’
- ‘Yes, it's nearly Christmas - so my TV has obligingly conked out again.’
break down, break, stop working, cease to function, cut out, stop, stall, crash, give out- 1.1(of a person) faint or go to sleep.‘he conked out on the rear seat’
- ‘On the right, Inkblot, the master of sleep himself, is conked out on his favorite afghan, his preferred sleeping spot of the moment.’
- ‘Give him a bunch of cold medicine so he conks out so you both can sleep, sleep, sleep.’
- ‘He was gonna sleep in the den but you guys had already conked out and Ryan was doing a pretty good job of taking up the whole floor, so I told him he could have the room upstairs.’
- ‘My head dropped back on the pillow, and I would have conked out again had it not been for my mother, who has oh-so-perfect timing, as most moms do.’
- ‘Justine had never been to Tobias' apartment but knew the general address from having dropped him off the night at dinner after he'd conked out.’
- ‘She started to get fussy on our way to the car… and, once in her carseat, she conked out.’
- ‘Eventually, she crawls beneath the covers into the ells formed by bent legs, and instantly conks out.’
- ‘Well, I'm up early again… probably because I have been conking out at about 11 the last few nights.’
- ‘I'm on call till Thursday, and pretty much conked out last night in front of the computer!’
- ‘Missy J. conked out within five minutes of our arrival.’
- ‘Well, last night I conked out just after ten as I needed to catch up on sleep lost after being called to see a patient.’
- ‘Thena is currently conked out on my bed, and Venus is probably creating havoc somewhere; or she's on the kitchen table.’
- ‘I was pretty tired last night so after coming home I did not play around on the computer for any length of time. I conked out fast.’
- ‘I spent a little time surfing the site until I conked out in front of the computer, as I had really planned to do this post last night.’
- ‘Finally, she sucked on my finger, sucked on my finger, sucked on my finger, and conked out in my lap.’
fall asleep, go to sleep, drop off - 1.2Die.‘most creatures conk out smartly once they have passed on their genes’pass away, pass on, lose one's life, depart this life, expire, breathe one's last, draw one's last breath, meet one's end, meet one's death, lay down one's life, be no more, perish, be lost, go the way of the flesh, go the way of all flesh, go to glory, go to one's last resting place, go to meet one's maker, cross the great divide, cross the Styx
Origin
First World War of unknown origin.
Pronunciation
transitive verb
[with object]informalHit (someone) on the head.
‘the clown conked him and sent him to the hospital with a concussion’- ‘How about I just conk you over the head and knock you out?’
- ‘I can tell you how she conked her daughter on the head when she started crying on the street.’
- ‘The marooned sailor rises, grasps a palm tree, shakes it and loosens a coconut, which conks him directly on the wound.’
- ‘She conked Joe lightly on the head with the book.’
- ‘When Sarah had pointed to where her brother lay, Griffin came up behind her and conked her on the head.’
- ‘He rushed towards the king but he was conked on the head and fell to the ground.’
- ‘He didn't bother to ask his brother if he used the wrench to conk him out.’
- ‘Playgoers, in general, tend to show resistance when the chosen theme of a piece conks you on the head like a sledgehammer.’
- ‘Grabbing a pillow, I conked him over the head with it.’
- ‘Without warning, she smartly conked him on the back of the head, the slimy gum flinging out of his mouth and into her opposite hand.’
- ‘He continues, ‘I flop like a fish on a dock, conk me with a frying pan to make me stop.’’
- ‘However, even that was easily dealt with, as all he had to do was lure the guard away, conk him, and hide him in the bushes.’
- ‘Heavy bars, however, may come down and conk you in the head so keep your hand on the bar to be safe.’
- ‘Let's be careful and not conk your head again.’
- ‘This time, large chunks of rock tumbled down with each step, cutting her bare arms and conking her on the head.’
- ‘I nearly conked my head on the upper bunk when I awoke the first day at camp.’
- ‘More than one of us has conked himself on the head with a heavy weight after his arms start to fatigue.’
- ‘The car is the source of most of the laughs as it winks its headlights, smiles using its front bumper, and uses its trunk to conk meddlers on the head.’
- ‘Next I bought glue traps, resolving to conk the critters as soon as they were caught.’
- ‘But you could rush at them and conk them on the head with that metal thing.’
hit over the head, hit on the head, hit, strike, buffet, bang, knock, thwack, slug, welt, cuff, punch, smash
noun
1informal, dated A person's head.
skull, cranium, crown- 1.1informal A blow to the head.
2British informal A person's nose.
- ‘There was a certain camaraderie, a nodding acquaintance with the other regulars, such as Big Nose's mob, several of whom had ordinary sized conks.’
- ‘The only use he serves as a coach is that his nose just about crosses the touchline when he's sat in the dugout, so there's every chance he'll be able to trip up a tricky winger with his conk.’
- ‘He has a huge conk and looks greasy to me.’
- ‘As for looks, I think he has beady little squinty eyes which are only enhanced by his huge conk.’
- ‘The audience was full of kids watching someone with a huge conk bent over and screeching like a crow.’
Origin
Early 19th century perhaps an alteration of conch.
Pronunciation
noun
informal USA hairstyle in which curly or kinky hair is straightened.
- ‘Malcolm Little, years before he was Malcolm X, wore his hair chemically slicked in what was called a conk and styled zoot suits when he was young.’
- ‘They went to the barber every Saturday for a conk or a shave, and at night the ones with long hair kept their waves pressed firm in caps made of nylon stockings.’
- ‘There were but a very few musicians who didn't wear a conk in those days.’
- ‘I don't buy organic and I wear a conk.’
- ‘Do I get to wear a conk?’
transitive verb
[with object]informal USStraighten curly or kinky hair.
- ‘He surely had him in mind in describing the three cool-walking black boys with conked hair in his 1952 novel.’
- ‘I conked his hair and didn't take the paste out.’
- ‘He just thinks that he was ridiculous conking his hair.’
Pronunciation
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