jink

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 18, 2020 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>jink</strong> &#149; \JINK\&nbsp; &#149; <em>verb</em><br /> <p><strong>:</strong> to move quickly or unexpectedly with sudden turns and shifts (as in dodging)</p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"Two fighters immediately launched missiles, and the American aircraft <em>jinked</em> up, then down to lose them." — <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Red_Storm_Rising/uUfbYl7DZmAC?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;dq=%22Two+fighters+immediately+launched+missiles,+and+the+American+aircraft+jinked+up,+then+down+to+lose+them%22&amp;pg=PA292&amp;printsec=frontcover">Tom Clancy, <em>Red Storm Rising</em>, 1986</a></p> <p>"Indeed there have been enough moments where he has <em>jinked</em> away from opponents or worked half a yard with his lightning-quick feet to produce a plethora of YouTube compilations." — <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/naby-keita-offers-liverpool-fans-22127831">Alex Richards, <em>The Mirror</em> (UK), 2 June 2020</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>Besides the fact that <em>jink</em> first appears in Scottish English, the exact origins of this shifty little word are unknown. What can be said with certainty is that the word has always expressed a quick or unexpected motion. For instance, in two poems from 1785, Robert Burns uses <em>jink</em> as a verb to indicate both the quick motion of a fiddler's elbow and the sudden disappearance of a cheat around a corner. In the 20th century, the verb caught on with air force pilots and rugby players, who began using it to describe their elusive maneuvers to dodge opponents and enemies. <em>Jink</em> can also be used as a <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jink#h2">noun</a> meaning "a quick evasive turn" or, in its plural form, "pranks." The latter use was likely influen