密歇根新闻广播 "hunker down"是什么意思

At a time when so many of us are being asked to hunker down in our homes, we've been getting questions from listeners about the word "hunker."

Suffice to say, we'll be hearing this one a lot more in the weeks and months to come.

The verb "hunker" is originally from Scots, where it first appears around 1720. It means "to squat," so "to hunker" means to physically¹ get down with your haunches on or close to your heels.

This use of "hunker" is still around in the US. You can also find "hunker up" or "hunker over" which means to make yourself small by bringing your limbs in close to your body.

The hunkering down we're doing right now during the coronavirus pandemic is a more figurative use of the word. This use comes about around the beginning of the 20th century.

As it moves into use in the U.S., "hunker down" comes to mean things like "to concentrate one's resources," especially if conditions are bad. It can also mean "to dig in" or "to buckle² down." For example, you might hunker down to get some work done.

"Hunker down" gets a lot of use in the media when there's a hurricane making headlines, so much so that there are "hunker down" drinking games. Lake Superior State even added it to the university's banished³ words list in 2006.

In the coming weeks and months, keep your eyes and ears open for other words and phrases that pop up repeatedly. We're not suggesting that you make a drinking game out of it, but we're not NOT suggesting it either.

In all seriousness, stay healthy and safe while you're hunkering down out there.

1 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

2 buckle   

n.扣子，带扣；v.把...扣住，由于压力而弯曲

参考例句：

• The two ends buckle at the back.带子两端在背后扣起来。
• She found it hard to buckle down.她很难专心做一件事情。

3 banished   

v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚，五年后在那里去世。
• He was banished to an uninhabited island for a year. 他被放逐到一个无人居住的荒岛一年。 来自《简明英汉词典》