dial. and U.S. [Origin unknown.]
1. trans. To pull with a sudden vigorous movement; to jerk or twitch vigorously.
1848. Bartlett, Dict. Amer., To Yank, to twitch or jerk powerfully; a term used in New England.
1854. Spirit of the Times (N.Y.) (Thornton, Amer. Gloss.). Afore you could say Sam Patch, then hogs were yanked aout of the lot, kilt and scraped.
1874. J. W. Long, Amer. Wild-fowl, viii. 143. How angry it has made me to have a nervous know-nothing catch me by the arm and yank me down, for fear a duck that he happened to catch sight of half a mile off would see me and take alarm.
1902. Sat. Rev., 11 Jan., 39. Yanking up fence-posts that were wanted in a hurry.
absol.
1867. Visit to Nantucket (Schele de Vere, 649). He yanked and yanked, but the sapling wouldn’t come, and thar he was caught in his own trap.
1884. Bath Herald, 11 Oct., 6/2. When a woman has a new pair of shoes sent home she … never shoves her toes into them, and yanks and hauls until she is red in the face.
b. transf.
1876. Besant & Rice, Gold. Butterfly, xxvi. Yank them both to bed.
1901. F. Hume, Golden Wang-ho, xiii. I’d have yanked Jinfou to the police-station straight away.
2. intr. To pull or jerk vigorously; fig. to be vigorously active.
1822. Ainslie, Land of Burns, 1. They went not forth like gaugers, A yanking on their cloots.
1888. Cassell’s Encycl. Dict., s.v. She yanked on at the work.
1912. Masefield, Dauber, III. ii. The staysails flogged, the tackle yanked and shook.
Hence Yanking ppl. a., (a) active, ‘pushing’ (Sc.); (b) jerking, twitching.
1824. Scott, St. Ronan’s, ii. I canna bide their yanking way of knapping English at every word.
1876. Mrs. Whitney, Sights & Insights, xxix. Poor Emery Ann had had a yanking old horse, and a wretchedly uncomfortable saddle.
