conk off

slang

1. proverb To fall asleep. He was so tired after his long day at work that he conked off during the movie. We were just about to conk off when the car alarm started blaring outside.

2. Of a machine, to break or completely lose functionality. Judging by all that noise coming from her car, I'm pretty sure it's about to conk off. The blender stopped working again today—it must be ready to conk off. Ah! I was right in the middle of using my hand mixer when it conked off on me!

conk out

1. proverb slang To fall asleep. He was so tired after his long day at work that he conked out during the movie. We were just about to conk out when the car alarm started blaring outside.

2. slang Of a machine, to break or completely lose functionality. Judging by all that noise coming from her car, I'm pretty sure it's about to conk out. The blender stopped working again today—it must be ready to conk out. Ah! I was right in the middle of using my hand mixer when it conked out on me!

3. To faint. Sarah conked out as soon as she crossed the finish line, but luckily her boyfriend was able to catch her. Once the heat got to me, I felt dizzy and then conked out. She really has to monitor her blood sugar carefully—if it drops too precipitously, she's liable to conk out.

4. To die. When Jared has any sort of illness, he immediately frets that he's going to conk out. I may be getting close to 90, but no way am I ready to conk out just yet! My mom is terrified of flying because she's convinced that's how she'll conk out.

See also: conk, out

conk-buster

1. Cheap liquor or alcohol. You must really want to get drunk tonight if you keep drinking that conk-buster—it's disgusting! Come on, we're not in college anymore—we can afford better booze that than that conk-buster. Whew, I took a sip of that conk-buster and nearly spit it out! Don't you have any decent alcohol here?

2. A challenging situation or problem. Well, that's a conk-buster—I don't know if a mathematician could even solve it! A: "What is weightless but can be seen, and if you put it in a bucket, it will make the bucket lighter?" B: "Hmm, I don't know. That's a real conk-buster!" The complete lack of physical evidence has made the case a conk-buster for forensic detectives.

conk off

and conk out

1. Sl. (from years ago.) to fall asleep. I conked off about midnight. I was so tired that I nearly conked off. I was afraid I would conk out while I was driving.

2. Sl. (always conk out.) [for something] to break down; to quit running. My car conked out finally. I hope my computer doesn't conk out.

conk out

1. Stop functioning, fail, as in The engine finally conked out. [Colloquial; early 1900s]

2. Fall asleep, as in Every evening he conked out in front of the television set. [1940s]

3. Faint or collapse, as in I don't know if it was the heat, but she suddenly conked out. [1920s]

4. Die, as in He's paranoid about conking out and he's only twenty! [Late 1920s]

See also: conk, out

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

conk out

v. Slang

1. To fail to function; cease to be useful, effective, or operable: My computer conked out on me. The car's engine conked out halfway through the race.

2. To go to sleep, especially due to exhaustion: I conked out after studying all night.

3. To lose consciousness or awareness: He conked out after being hit by the ball. She took some medicine and conked out.

4. To cause someone or something to lose consciousness or awareness: The ball hit the goalie's head and conked her out. The mugger conked him out and grabbed his briefcase.

See also: conk, out

conk

and konk

n. the head. Where’d you get that nasty bump on your konk?

conk off

in. to fall asleep. I conked off about midnight.

conk out

1. in. [for someone] to collapse, and perhaps fall asleep. I was so tired I just went home and conked out.

2. in. [for something] to break down; to quit running. I hope my computer doesn’t conk out.

See also: conk, out

conk-buster

and konk-buster (ˈkɔŋkbəstɚ)

1. n. inferior liquor. Jed kept a jar of conk-buster under his bed against night sweats.

2. n. a hard-to-answer question or problem. Man, what you’re asking is really a conk-buster.

conk out, to

Fall asleep or lose consciousness. This colloquialism was coined by aviators during World War I. It was thought to be imitative of the noise an engine makes just before it breaks down completely. The term is still used for mechanical failures, but by the mid-1900s it was being applied to human beings. Thus, Maurice Herzog had it in Annapurna (1952): “I told Lionel that rather than conk out next day on the slope, it seemed far better for me to go down.”