I was talking with grudknows the other day and found myself saying “I haven’t been there for yonks!” or something similar to that.  We then began to wonder if yonks is Australian or from somewhere else.  Realising that we have our own small, but wonderful, overseas audience to canvas, I turned the question into a scrine.  Now I’ve added this nifty poll.  Nifty, hey.  As this poll went to air, 100% of all American Scriners had not heard of the phrase yonks, while 100% of all Australian Scriners had heard of it (and used it recently).

The closest I can seem to get is some vague use of the word “yonkers”, which right at the moment can’t seem to remember how it was used.  I think it was some reference to being crazy, like “I’m going yonkers.”

Keith, I think you’re thinking you’d have to be bonkers to go to Yonkers, NY.

I’m trying to remember what odd expression my Singaporean friend used to say meaning a long time, I think it was something like, “I haven’t been there for donkeys years.” Anyone else use that phrase?  Could it be the wacky Australians have shortened “donkeys years” to a more compact “yonks?”

I do remember bonkers in relationship to Yonkers, but I do seem to recall yonkers becoming interchangable, at least where we were, with bonkers.

I can’t claim to have heard “donkey’s years.” The closest I can come to that is “in a coon’s age,” which of course, has nothing to do with yonkers.

i know both donkey’s years and coon’s age, but of course the latter is not used, being offensive.  they’re not talking about the little animals.

Well, the word on the street seems to be that in order to be familiar with the term you have to a) be of UK origin, b) lived in a country in the Commonwealth or c) have socialised in some form or other (and quite possibly extensively) with folks that have.

Check out World Wide Words, Word Web Online, All Words, The Phrase Finder, Wiktionary, Take our word for it (this site *even* has a Curmudgeons’ Corner), Scottish Vernacular Dictionary - and of course (but certainly not finally) the Urban Dictionary.

AND… on a related theme (ie. the ‘a long time ago bit’) if you want to go off on a slight tangent, there’s Yonks, that refers to it’s self as the ‘History database with attitude’.  History… yonks.  Geddit?

That’s it for me for now… anyway, those resources should keep you busy for a while as I know it’s few of you that will just look ONLY at the ‘yonks’ references to which you’ve been directed.

g-r-u-d

This has been a public service announcement brought to you by the letter m and the number 1.

is it possible that i am the only one who wants to be a harlequin?

Good links, Grud.  Just one more reason for me to create a spot on Scrineblog to gather all these gems together for safekeeping.

I wish I was a harlequin too, but I could only choose one option, so I went with informative.  Whoever designed this poll needs a kick up the bum.  I know that’s me, but I still think that’s true.