Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hanky-twist

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.36 in modern English

Syllables: han-ky-twist
IPA

23

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To fret; to worry ineffectually.

Example Sentences

"There must in other fields be analogous forms of the brow-knitting and hanky-twisting which have accompanied the more narcissistic aspects of the 'literary turn' in anthropology (of which Writing Culture is least typical) and cognate fields."
"After years of hanky-twisting, here we are, irreversibly committed to this thing."
"Cinema's standout bad guys didn't hanky-twist their lives away whimpering “Gee, am I doing something wrong?”"

Etymology

From the image of an anxious person twisting a handkerchief in the hands.

Inflected Forms

hanky-twists (present, singular) hanky-twisting (participle, present) hanky-twisted (participle, past) hanky-twisted (past)

Questions

What does hanky-twist mean?: To fret; to worry ineffectually.
Where does hanky-twist come from?: From the image of an anxious person twisting a handkerchief in the hands.

How to pronounce hanky-twist

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