hunkering down
Settling in and staying put, often to ride out trouble or bad weather.
Also called hunker down, digging in, staying put.
Updated September 24, 2026
hunkering down pronunciation
/HUNK-er-in DOWN/
Meaning
Means you dig in where you are. Close the gates, stock the fridge, wait out the storm. Can be literal crouching, but in everyday redneck talk it usually means staying home and toughing it out. Also used for buckling down to a hard job.
How folks use it
- “We're hunkering down till this ice storm passes.”
- “He's been hunkering down in that hunting cabin all weekend.”
Origin and etymology
Hunker is old Scots for squatting on your haunches. Hunker down shows up as a Southern U.S. dialect phrase around 1902, first for squatting or getting down to work, then for sheltering and staying put. National weather talk later borrowed it, but the rural Southern use never quit.