Yonks

Posted by Henry on February 25, 2004

In Reply to: Yonks posted by Shae on February 25, 2004

: : what does "yonks" mean?
: : I know it relates to time, having to wait "yonks"

: I found it in two on-line English-English dictionaries but not in their American-English counterparts.

: YONKS: noun [U] UK OLD-FASHIONED INFORMAL
: a very long time, usually a number of years:
: How is Gareth? I haven't seen him for yonks!(from Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
: dictionary.cambridge.org/

: YONKS n. Quite simply, a long time. Not a specific length of time at all; it could be minutes or decades. Good examples would be "Where have you been? I've been waiting here for yonks!" or "Met a friend from school the other day who I haven't seen for yonks."
: english2american.com/ dictionary/y.html#yonks

Here's an unusual yet plausible explanation for the word; it comes from Years, mONths, weeKs and dayS. It's a strange coincidence if it isn't true! Any other ideas?

• Yonks masakim 25/February/04