1

It's a sample sentence under the entry "skank" in New Oxford Dictionary, illustrating the sense "obtain by deception or theft":

I skanked the poster off some wall.

I find it quite hard to figure out what does the speaker talk about. Did he take the poster off a certain wall, or just ripped part of the poster off the wall?

What does "off some wall" mean here?

Improve this question
4
  • 2
    Just one data point... I've never heard the word "skank" used in this manner. Is this usage regional? (I speak American English, for reference.)
    – godel9
    Commented Jan 2, 2014 at 4:33
  • 1
    @godel9 My dictionaries say it's American slang. I'm American, and though I can't recall having heard it, I did understand it, so maybe I have before... No idea on what parts of the US it appears in, in any case.
    – user230
    Commented Jan 2, 2014 at 5:02
  • 2
    OED skank 3. trans. and occas. intr. To con, swindle, or cheat (a person). I'm not aware that it's a particularly "American slang" usage, but it's not common. In the UK the noun form person (esp. a woman) regarded as unattractive, sleazy, sexually promiscuous, or immoral is now common (but apparently that was originally US slang).
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jan 2, 2014 at 17:22
  • FumbleFingers defintion is the one I am familiar with. I wouldn't call a poster thief a skank either. I will write to the Oxford dictionary and complain.
    – drynyn
    Commented Mar 18, 2016 at 19:20

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
5

I would interpret it as “off a wall”.  The use of “some” indicates that the author/speaker is being deliberately, explicitly vague about what wall he’s talking about; asserting that the location of the wall is unimportant.  Similar: “I drove from New York to Boston; I stopped along the way at some restaurant.”

Improve this answer
2
  • Note that when you say the word 'some' when it is being used like this, it is often given a little emphisis.
    – drynyn
    Commented Mar 18, 2016 at 19:22
  • Oh?  That's not the way I would say it.
    – Scott - Слава Україні
    Commented Mar 18, 2016 at 20:17

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .