What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Zonk vs Tonk - What's the difference?

zonk | tonk |

As verbs the difference between zonk and tonk

is that zonk is to make (someone) sleepy or delirious while tonk is form of obsolete verb (to be wrong with ) only one form is still in use today:.

As a noun zonk

is an unfavorable card or token, or undesirable or worthless item used as a prize in a contest or game show (such as ).

zonk

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • An unfavorable card or token, or undesirable or worthless item used as a prize in a contest or game show (such as ).
  • * 2003-10-1, Gregory Arthur Baer Life: The Odds (And How to Improve Them) , Penguin, ISBN 1592400337, page 237
  • There will always be two doors that hold zonks', so regardless of whether you initially chose the grand prize or a '''zonk''', Monty will always be able to show you a ' zonk not chosen.
  • * 2003-12-30, Jerrilyn Farmer, Mumbo Gumbo: A Madeline Bean Novel , HarperCollins, ISBN 0380817195, page 204:
  • A live, mane-embellished, SAG-card-carrying lion, I should point out, who was likely being staged for a few minutes off to the side before he would be used as a freaking “Zonk !” on a freaking game show, for crying out loud.
  • * 2004, Jay Mechling, On My Honor: Boy Scouts and the Making of American Youth , University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0226517055, page 124
  • A zonk' was way overdue, yet the boys knew that the Seniors knew they would think this was a ' zonk and would trick the boys by making this another real prize.
  • * 2004, Timothy V. Rasinski, Nancy Padak, Effective reading strategies: teaching children who find reading difficult , Pearson/Prentice Hall, ISBN 0131121863, page 150
  • I have three empty coffee cans, two with prizes and one with a slip of paper that says "Zonk ."
  • * 2006-05-09, Bruce Frey, Statistics hacks , O'Reilly Media, ISBN 0596101643, page 208:
  • Avoid the Zonk / On the TV show Let's Make a Deal, contestants often had to choose between three curtains.
  • * 2008, Max H. Bazerman, Don A. Moore, Judgment in Managerial Decision Making , John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 0470049456, page 53:
  • Once a contestant picked a door, Monty would often open one of the other two doors to reveal a zonk , ...
  • * 2009, Victor Shoup, A Computational Introduction to Number Theory and Algebra , Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521516447, page 217:
  • Behind two doors is a “zonk ,” that is, something amusing but of little or no value, such as a goat, ...
  • (slang) A feeling of a drug taking hold.
  • Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make (someone) sleepy or delirious.
  • To become exhausted, sleepy or delirious.
  • After two hours of studying, I zonked out.

    Derived terms

    * zonk out * zonked

    tonk

    English

    Etymology 1

    Origins are unknown, but definitely predate the use of metal flashlights, contrary to the most quoted description of origin. It's probable that the origin is related to Chinese immigration, as the first law to restrict immigration from a particular country was enacted in 1882 to limit the numbers of Chinese coming to the United States. It's said that many of the illegal immigrants made their way to the US via the Gulf of Tonkin area of what is now Vietnam. It's also possible that the term is related to the Chinese "tong" mob.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (slang, mostly, US) An illegal immigrant of any country.
  • * 1990:' United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary, ''Confirmation Hearings on Federal Appointments: Hearings Before the Committee'' - An agent, Larry Moy, when asked to define the derivation of the term “' tonk ,” replied: “...it's the sound of flashlight hitting somebody's head, tonk". [This "derivation" is incorrect - see Etymology]
  • * 1998: Cirenio Rodriguez & Enrique T Trueba, Leadership, education and political action'', in ''Ethnic Identity and Power: Cultural Contexts of Political Action in School and Society - "Catch as many tonks as you guys can. Safely. An alien is not worth busting a leg."
  • * 2005:' EMF (poster on ''The QandO Blog'' in response to ''Illegal immigration made easy'', read at on 27 May 2006) - The pissed off Arizona land owner who snipes the ' tonk s with a high powered rifle.
  • Etymology 2

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (slang) An item of value, or of perceived value, especially for sale.
  • How much tonk have we got to shift?

    Etymology 3

    Alternative forms

    * tunk

    Noun

    (-)
  • A matching card game, combining features of knock rummy and conquian.
  • Anagrams

    *