Don’t know if you got a response to this (I was gone too long!) but the Online Etymology Dictionary says the workd punk was used in the 1590s to mean “prostitute” or “harlot” (and shows up in All’s Well That Ends Well), and by the earlier 20th century had became associated with young criminals, specifically a criminal’s apprentice. There isn’t much more there about this sense of the word, except a brief mention that it had “overtones of ‘catamite’ “.
A little more searching led me to a 2005 paper by Patrick Ellis “The Prison-House and Language: Modern American Prison Argot”, in which he describes punk as the most widespread word for an exclusively submissive partner in a prison relationship. He states that the term is citied as long ago as 1904 and is still in use today. I’ve heard it used with this meaning (quite similarly to how people use the B-word) outside the context of prison but I think without that context it’s generally dwarfed by it’s (many) other definitions.
it’s mine go away
This is a great comic.
Though the thought of someone doing this to me would make me want to break out a fucking flamethrower. YUCK PERSONAL SPACE.
[desc. comic of two people, a young woman dressed in a midriff shirt and jeans and a guy of some sort. The guy approaches behind the girl and jiggles her chub, saying “OH HO HO! SOMEONE HAS GAINED WEIGHT.” Young woman looks around, says, “YEAH I HAVE!” She punches the guy, who goes flying with little x’s in his eyes. “IN MY FIST!” She hugs her chub, saying, “DON’T TOUCH MY CHUB, PUNK.” She kisses her chub and little hearts fly up. “I LOVE YOU.”]
Side note: Someone once told me that “punk” was an anti-gay slur? Does anyone know more about this?
