unk-unk n. especially in engineering, something, such as a problem, that has not been and could not have been imagined or anticipated; an unknown unknown. Editorial Note: The Barnhart Dictionary of New English Since 1963 (Barnhart/Harper & Row, New York, 1973) gives this term as a plural and defines it as “a series of unknowns, especially of inexplicable calamities.” The term is now common as a singular and has spread from the aerospace engineering business to be used in military, government, and corporate environments. The two letter Ks are not silent as they would be in unknown, but are audible and hard, as in the end of drunk. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Language is always evolving, and that’s also true for American Sign Language. A century ago, the sign for “telephone” was one fist below your mouth and the other at your ear, as if you’re holding an old-fashioned candlestick...
A listener in Unadilla, New York, says her husband, whose family is French-Canadian, uses the phrase That burns my onions when something irritates him. There are several kitchen-related metaphors used to express anger, including that steams my...