Conjugate That

     This photo of  my grandmother, Cleo Hurst, was taken around 1940.  One of the many things I loved about talking with her was her use of unusual words and phrases in everyday conversation. The word sanko was one of my favorites.  For example, if she saw a cat walking in the yard she might say "look at that old cat just sankoin down the yard."  For a long time I've wondered where the word came from but wasn't sure where to go to find out.  And then one day last week I decided to Google it and would you believe it?  I found a definition because Google apparently has an answer for everything.

   According to Google and The Dictionary of American Regional English (p.471), the word sanko seems to be one of those words created by the mountaineer for his own purpose. It means loafing, loitering,sashaying, or hanging around. Sanko is a verb, often used in conjunction with along, around, down. "Sankoing around." Also sango, sanker, sankly.  Used chiefly in the Appalachians and the Ozarks.