plunkety-plunk

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   onomatopoeic: a repeated dull plunking or clopping sound, such as hoofbeats or notes on a stringed instrument

   A distant plunkety-plunk announced that horses were coming along the road.

2. 2
   adj

   onomatopoeic: producing or characterized by a repeated plunking sound

   The tune had a simple plunkety-plunk rhythm.

An expressive formation from plunk + -ety, followed by reduplication. The repeated sounds imitate a sequence of dull impacts or twanging notes; Mark Twain uses it for approaching horses' hoofbeats.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images