punkie
n.— «The men took fright at seeing the line of flickering lights approaching through the mist believing the ghostly apparitions to be Punkies—the souls of unbaptized children. “Punkie” is also a local term for the luminous emissions of marsh gas that can sometimes be seen in damp, low-lying areas.» —“It’s Punkie Night tonight!” by Alex Cameron Chard & Ilminster News (Chard, Somerset, United Kingdom) Oct. 26, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
After our conversation about nighttime wakefulness, a Sacramento, California, woman shares the funny story behind the term she and her husband use for that phenomenon: squeegee. This is part of a complete episode.
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