Scottish “Fank” and “Fankle” Mean a Coil, Snare, or Tangle

In Scotland, a fank is a coil of rope or a snare, a sense that gives rise to fankle, meaning to tangle. As a verb, fankle can also mean to lose the thread of a conversation, and as a noun, it can mean the tangle itself. Earbud cords, for example, can get all fankled. This is part of a complete episode.

Transcript of “Scottish “Fank” and “Fankle” Mean a Coil, Snare, or Tangle”

In Scotland, a fank, F-A-N-K, is a coil of rope or a snare, and that gives us the verb fankle, which I really love. It means to tangle, or more metaphorically, to lose the thread of discourse. I got fankled. It also gives us the word fankle, which means a tangle. And I’m glad to finally have a word for what happens to my earbuds, you know, the cord on my earbuds. They’re fankled. They get all fankled, tangled.

For a second there, I was thinking it might be a synonym for cankle, fat ankle. Like a really fat. Yeah. You know, it’s been a long day and you’ve been on your feet and your ankles are a little swollen, and then you take off your shoes and you’ve got that red line. Yeah, and you just put up your cankles, right?

Oh, yeah, you put the dogs up so they stop barking.

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