A listener in Council Bluffs, Iowa, says his grandmother, born in 1899, used to say I’m feeling punk, meaning “I’m feeling ill.” The term derives from an older sense of punk meaning “rotted wood.” This is part of a complete episode.
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I use this ‘term’ & am so glad to find this. My daughter told me just yesterday when trying to describe how she felt, that she was feeling ‘off’ & not quite herself & said, ‘I think how you mean when you say you are feeling punk’. The first time I heard it was in the movie, ‘Brian’s Song’, when Brian Piccolo is in the hospital & tells Gayle Sayers that’s how he is feeling. I’ve used it ever since. Tom should go right ahead & use his grandmother’s word, if only to be reminded of her. ?