A Hankerin' to Hunker

[SifuPhil]

Where did hunkering go? I looked for it recently and there was squat to be found.

Hunkering was a college craze in the late '50's, much like jamming into telephone booths or Volkswagens, and consisted of ... well ... hunkerin' down on the balls of your feet.



Derived from the Scottish word for "haunches", the fad grew out of a chair shortage in a fraternity house at the University of Arkansas, whose students had watched their Ozark daddies squatting and whittling at crossroads stores. Hunkerers always hunker together, and girl hunkerers are perfectly eligible. Sophisticates hunker flatfooted. Real progressives hunker with elbows inside the knees, though this is difficult while "hunkerin' and hookin' " (squatting and drinking beer).


So, have you hunkered today?

​

 

[SeaBreeze]

I might have hunkered today, when I was applying linseed oil to my wooden front door. Of course I was alone, so not sure it counted. Also, now that I'm long in the tooth, when I hunker, I have to keep the magnesium oil handy for foot cramps. :hair:

 

[Sid]

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2010/08/dont_just_sit_there.html

 

[Jillaroo]

I will just imagine that i can Hunker sigh

 

[Diwundrin]

Let's just say that I could only do it once.:rofl:
There would be no return to normal posture from that. :inv:

 

[SifuPhil]

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2010/08/dont_just_sit_there.html

I first heard about that correct posture many moons ago but have rarely had the chance to practice it. Maybe I should visit that website and pick up an adapter kit. Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Sid.

Thankfully I can still hunker-down on the balls of my feet or flat-footed, but not for hours like the hard-core practitioners. It's a lot like assuming the Full Lotus position - at first it seems impossible but you can slowly approach the goal without breaking or bending anything. Of course, the younger you are when you start the better.

 

[Pappy]

I could probably hunker if there was a handrail handy otherwise I would be there for eternity. :help1:

 

[dbeyat45]

I think I got hunkered once.

 

[JustBonee]

The weatherman would always tell us to HUNKER DOWN when a Hurricane was approaching ....

 

[Jillaroo]

Elvis sang a song about that,hunka hunka burning love

 

[SifuPhil]

Back in my old NY stomping grounds we often heard the term "Hunkies", which as a kid I always thought meant a large, chubby person. It wasn't until years later that I learned it was a derogatory slang term for Hungarians.

Elvis sang a song about that,hunka hunka burning love

Now see, with my bad hearing I always thought he was singing "Honka! Honka! Burnin' Luv!" - that he was a pizza delivery guy from the "Burnin' Luv" pizza place, blowing his horn so the customer comes out and pays for the delivery ...

 

[That Guy]

The only hunkering I know is the get-down-stay-down kind. Not a good thing.

 

[TICA]

The weatherman would always tell us to HUNKER DOWN when a Hurricane was approaching ....

That's the only time I heard the term. You guys have me laughing though - always such witty retorts from everyone...

 

[Old Hipster]

Holy shit! I could never get back up again, my knees would both be toast!

We say hunker down a lot too, when I bad storm is approaching, time to hunker down and lay low.

 

[Diwundrin]

It's usually just called a Squat here.
I couldn't do it for more than a few seconds when I was a kid, I'm sure not up to it now.

 

[SifuPhil]

It's usually just called a Squat here.
I couldn't do it for more than a few seconds when I was a kid, I'm sure not up to it now.

We used to have to do "duck walks" in martial arts class - all the way around the room (a big one at that - maybe 60'x80') several times. That's why my quadriceps resemble those of a T.Rex.

Unfortunately we didn't do much arm development, so mine also resemble those of that prehistoric terrorist.

 

[Diwundrin]

:lofl: Love the T-Rex memes.
Evolution steered me more this way.

 

[SifuPhil]

That's neither a Diplodocus nor a Stegosaurus - what IS that?

Congrats - you've stumped me! Usually I'm decent with dinos ...

 

[dbeyat45]

I think it's a Mokupitus, common in Western Queensland around Winton.

 

[Diwundrin]

Yep, that looks like a typical Qld project DB. Build it out in the Never-never where no one can get to it, then put the carpark half a day's walk from the entrance. A brilliant piece of planning.


Dammit Phil! I can't remember the name of the damned thing, I was looking for Ankylosaurus but it looked a bit 'sveldte' so went through the gallery to find a plumper, non squattable example. It's an ancestor of the Anky.
Hang on, looooking, loooooking... here 'tis.

Scelidosaurus

By Bob Strauss, About.com Guide
Dating from the early Jurassic period, the small, primitively armored Scelidosaurus spawned a mighty race; this dinosaur is believed to have been ancestral not only to ankylosaurs, but to stegosaurs as well. More about Scelidosaurus

http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/dinosaurpictures/ig/Ankylosaur-Pictures/Scelidosaurus.htm

I've always been a bit 'Calvin' about dinosaurs too.

 

[SifuPhil]

Ah, great, thank you. I was tossing and turning all last night thinking of dinosaurs. I see he was an ancestor of the stegosaurus as well, but he just had an odd look to him.

I've always been a bit 'Calvin' about dinosaurs too.

 

[Diwundrin]

I'll go with cool.