Every time we see the word “doink,” we hear it too.
Of course, by “we,” we’re referring to those of us here at That’s What They Say, though we imagine many of you are now hearing “doink” in your head right now. It sounds like this: “Doink!”
We realize that example probably didn’t help much, but perhaps a visual example will.
On December 8, the Kansas City Chiefs clinched their 9th straight AFC West title after defeating the Los Angeles Chargers 19 to 17. What really sets this game apart though is the field goal that won the game for the Chiefs.
With just a second left on the clock, Matthew Wright kicked a field goal that bounced off the left upright before soaring through and winning the game for the Chiefs. According to sportsball types, had the ball been off even a few millimeters, this story would’ve had a very different ending.
Following the game, the sports world lit up with headlines like “The Chiefs doinked a game-winning field goal past the Chargers” and “NFL world in utter disbelief after Chiefs beat Chargers on a lucky doink.” It was the “doink that won the division,” as Sports Illustrated put it.
While the play itself is fun to watch, we were more intrigued by the fact that “doink” appears to be an official term. That’s not to say it’s not fitting — that play definitely looks and sounds like “doink.”
Most standard dictionaries don’t include “doink.” We checked Merriam Webster, American Heritage, the Oxford English Dictionary — none of them had it. Dictionary.com has an entry that defines the noun “doink” as “a sound or motion like that of something bouncing off a resilient surface or springing upright.”
Dictionary.com’s “doink” entry also refers specifically to the action of a football bouncing off a goalpost. The verb form means to make or cause this sound.
The noun form has another meaning that goes back to the late 1960s and refers to “a fool or a jerk.” As far as “doink” as a sound, Curzan was able to put it back to at least the early 1980s, when it started showing up as a sound effect in kids’ books.
And yes, “doink” has some sexual meanings that you’re welcome to research on your own, preferably not at work.
While Professor Curzan was looking into this word, she discovered the “double doink” which is an actual thing that happens occasionally in football. To hear more about that, listen to the audio above.
