Mary writes:
Way back in high school, I recall a gorgeously dressed girl who had been complimented on her fine attire saying: “What? This old rag?” She had a wicked gleam in her eye when she said it too.
Plonk makes me think of that.
The British use this slang for an inexpensive bottle of wine. According to the dictionary the term was born around 1925 to 1930 and is likely tied to the French word for white wine: vin blanc.
In England, and probably also Australia, plonk is a word that is used regularly in conversation. It can even be used to help people decipher how formal a planned social event is — if a host says to bring a bottle of plonk, you know to leave your suit and tie at home.
While it denotes an inferior wine and could be viewed as a derogatory descriptor, it seems the term is being used more freely these days to describe wines that one might drink during the week — you know, the ones in the $5 to $6 range that sit in your fridge for a night or two.
You could easily use plonk to describe those wines, no matter what the color.
But the $20 bottle you’ve saved for the weekend would definitely not fall under the plonk definition.
So, had any good plonk lately?
Hey Brynn, have you had Tagaris’ ‘Clonk de Plonk’? It’s a great table wine with a fun story and label. Check it out!