Do you hunker or bunker down? A word expert answers your questions

March 21, 2026 — 5:30am

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Question: is it hunker or bunker down? Card sharp or card shark? A glimpse of the wordy queries in March’s mailbag. Matthew Holle submitted those first stumpers, champing (or chomping) at the bit for a verdict.

Verdicts plural, since Matthew had sent several eggcorns as we know such muddles. Distinct from malapropisms, like kit and cavoodle, eggcorns are misspoken phrases with semantic justification, like adopting the feeble position in light of global news. The eggcorn tag derives from a kid’s canny revamp of acorn, as the oak’s ovoid nut is indeed corn-coloured. The bungle adds up.

As does bunker down, the errant offshoot of hunker down, where hunker is the Scottish term for hunch, while bunker is........

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