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balky

[baw-kee]

adjective, balk·i·er, balk·i·est.

given to balking; stubborn; obstinate: a balky mule.

Origin:
1840–50; balk + -y¹

Related forms

balk·i·ly, adverb

balk·i·ness, noun

Synonyms
contrary, perverse, headstrong, mulish, pigheaded.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Balky is always a great word to know.

So is zedonk. Does it mean:

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

balky or baulky (ˈbɔːkɪ, ˈbɔːlkɪ, ˈbɔːkɪ, ˈbɔːlkɪ)

—*adj* , balkier, balkiest, baulkier, baulkiest
	inclined to stop abruptly and unexpectedly: a balky horse

baulky or baulky

—*adj*

'balkily or baulky

—*adv*

'baulkily or baulky

—*adv*

'balkiness or baulky

—n

'baulkiness or baulky

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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"A preschool child does not emerge from your toddler on a given date or birthday. He becomes a child when he ceases to be a wayward, confusing, unpredictable and often balky person-in-the- making, and becomes a comparatively cooperative, eager-and-easy-to-please real human being—at least 60 per cent of the time."

-Penelope Leach

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balky

balk·y