stark naked
English
Etymology
Middle English stert naked (steort nakt, sternaked, star naked); the first element is from Old English steort (“tail”). The change from "start-naked" to "stark-naked" was most likely by folk etymology due to a misinterpretation of the phrase as being a way of saying "starkly naked" ("strongly naked, harshly naked").
Synonyms
- See Thesaurus:nude
Translations
completely naked
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Noun
- (slang, archaic) Raw gin.
- Synonym: strip me naked
- 1870, Langford Cecil, Fenacre Grange, page 15:
- "Give us a glass of 'stark naked,' Job! This plaguey fog's well nigh choked me," said Rube, spluttering and coughing, and vituperating it.
References
- John Camden Hotten (1873) The Slang Dictionary
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