hunger knock
- noun
- /ˈhʌŋɡər nɑk/
- UK
- When I skip breakfast, a hunger knock hits me by noon.
Examples
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After skipping lunch, a sudden hunger knock made him realize how hungry he was.
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She tried to ignore the persistent hunger knock during the afternoon meeting.
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Long-distance runners often describe experiencing a hunger knock if they forget to eat before a race.
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I felt a hunger knock in my stomach.
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After skipping lunch, a sudden hunger knock in his stomach reminded him that he needed to eat.
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During the marathon, she experienced a hunger knock that prompted her to grab a snack.
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While working late, the hunger knock reminded him it was time for dinner.
Synonyms
A low sound your stomach makes when you are hungry
How Intense
Surface Forms
Morphology
A B1 learner who knows 'hunger' and 'knock' can plausibly infer that this refers to a signal or sudden sensation associated with hunger (a 'knock' as a figurative signal in the body), so the overall meaning is partly compositional. However, the use of 'knock' metaphorically for an internal bodily signal is not a fully predictable or conventionalized combination in English (and the phrase is not a common, fixed idiom), so understanding would likely require some contextual exposure.
Etymology
Hunger knock comes from the image of your stomach making a sudden knock or hard feeling, as if someone is knocking inside, showing strong hunger. So hunger knock means a sudden, strong 'signal' that tells you you are 'hungry'.