Unsteady, shaky, or not functioning properly; askew or crooked. In British slang, also meaning unreliable or of questionable quality.
Possibly from dialectal English 'wankle' meaning unsteady, or related to 'wonk' (a studious person), though the connection is unclear. The word emerged in early 20th century British English as slang for something that wobbles or doesn't work properly.
In American English, 'wonk' refers to a policy expert or studious person, but 'wonky' maintained the British sense of something being off-kilter or unreliable. The word perfectly captures that frustrating feeling when something almost works but not quite - like a wobbly table or a temperamental gadget.
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