punk

1. dried decayed wood that smoulders when ignited: used as tinder

2. any of various other substances that smoulder when ignited, esp one used to light fireworks

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

CryptoPunks

Computer-generated pop art characters from Larva Labs that are created as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Introduced in 2017, there is a total of 10,000 CryptoPunks (6,039 male/3,840 female), and sales have reached the stratosphere. Total revenue has surpassed $1.5 billion, and characters routinely sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Because the images are generated by an algorithm, the ones with unique features are considered the most valuable (see below). See non-fungible token.

Sample CryptoPunks

In mid-2021, these CryptoPunks sold for the highest prices. The top dozen appear on the CryptoPunks website. (Image courtesy of Larva Labs, www.larvalabs.com)

cyberpunk

An online delinquent who survives by using his or her high-tech wits. The term was popularized in science fiction novels such as "Neuromancer" and "Shockwave Rider," which featured a dystopian future. The term is used to describe all variety of tech enthusiast; for example, the CyberPunks.com website features more than 50 tech-oriented categories. See steampunk, CryptoPunks and cyberprankster.

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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Punk

a material that smolders when a spark falls on it. Punk is used to start a fire by striking steel against a flint. It is prepared from the sporophores of various fungi of the genus Fomes, particularly the tinder fungus (F. fomentarius), which grows mainly on the birch tree. To obtain punk, the sporophore is separated from the rest of the fruiting body, impregnated with potassium nitrate, and dried. Punk was used to kindle fires primarily before matches came into widespread use.

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References in periodicals archive

"I pitched the idea of cultural responses to deindustrialisation, but particularly looking at Paisley punk. There's been a few things about Paisley punk on the likes of the People's History Show on TV.

Calling on all Paisley punks... Share your memories at tonight's meeting

Reflecting a long-standing schism, the editors identify punk as originating in the UK then spreading to New York rather than having its birthplace in the US.

Beyond No Future: Cultures of German Punk

Punk would rather pack a punch with viewers for a night than take one in a fight.

CM Punk could move to commentary

Compulsively readable and beautifully researched, Burning Down the Haus records the critical role that punks played in the German resistance movements of the 1980s, up to and beyond the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

BURNING DOWN THE HAUS

Punk quit WWE in January 2014 after a miserable final two years and soon made the stunning move to UFC.

Ex-WWE star's career is on the line at the UC

There are people who will argue that the word punk has nothing to do with being gay, and that anybody can be a punk.

Is Punk the New F-Word? The word has been used to bully gay black boys for decades

And when the venue for UFC 225 was announced in February, Punk hinted he would appear at the United Center on June 9.

Former WWE Champion CM Punk's UFC return finally official; Punk's octagon opponent at UFC 225 in his home city of Chicago revealed

Greene proposes: "I'm not talking about what punk is in essence.

Punk and Revolution: 7 More Interpretations of Peruvian Reality

The event, part of the Whitley Bay Film Festival, also saw an exhibition of Punk photos, hand-painted clothing and album artwork, as well as a performance from Graham Fellows aka Jilted John.

NEVER MIND the CAPITAL ...Punk in tHe ProVinces

The event, part of the Whitley Bay Film Festival, also saw an exhibition of punk photos, handpainted clothing and album artwork, as well as a performance from Graham Fellows aka Jilted John.

Punk's not dead - rebels celebrate four decades