Plonk

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /plɒŋk/

Definitions

1. An inexpensive or inferior alcoholic beverage, especially wine ; to place or drop something down with a heavy or careless sound
2. A low-cost or poor-quality drink meant for casual consumption ; to set or deposit an object noisily or without delicacy
3. A simple, often cheap wine or spirit usually consumed informally ; to let something fall or set down in a thudding or careless manner

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "plonk" is that its best-known sense, cheap wine, may come from the trenches. During the First World War, British soldiers in France seem to have garbled the French "vin blanc" ("white wine") into "plonk," and the word was first recorded in the playful rhyming form "plinketty-plonk." Some think the sound of wine being poured into a glass also helped shape it. Its other sense, to put something down heavily, is probably onomatopoeic, imitating a dull thud. It sits alongside "plunk," a close relative with a similar sound. A separate and less certain suggestion is that "plonk" was shortened from "plonker," a slang word for a fool, though that link remains unproven.

Synonyms: thud, drop, splash

Antonyms: lift, raise