Cronk

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. Describing a machine, vehicle or piece of equipment that is faulty, unreliable and likely to break down
2. Used of something in poor working order, such as an old car that keeps failing, especially in Australian slang
3. Referring to an object or system that is worn out, shoddy or in a state of disrepair and not dependable

Etymology: "Cronk" is an adjective and noun whose origins are uncertain, which makes it a good example of how dialect words can resist tidy explanation. The most likely source is the British dialect word "crank," meaning unwell, ill, or weak, or in the sense of weak-minded. Its sound may also have been shaped by imitation, since it is linked to "quonk," a word that imitates a sound. Because "cronk" survives mainly in dialect and informal speech, its exact path into use is hard to trace. The connection to "crank" is plausible, as the two words share a meaning of frailty, but it has not been fully proven. The imitative element means the word may have been shaped partly by how it sounded rather than by a single ancestor.

Synonyms: dodgy, unreliable, broken-down

Antonyms: reliable, sound