Definition of "spanking" []

• Informal Exceptional of its kind; remarkable. (adjective)
• Swift and vigorous: a spanking pace. (adjective)
• Brisk and fresh: a spanking breeze. (adjective)
• Used as an intensive: a spanking clean shirt. (adverb)
• A number of slaps on the buttocks delivered in rapid succession, as for punishment. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I hate to use the word spanking around college kids, because it just gives them ideas."
• "I wonder if spanking is a particularly British predilection?"
• "I tried to find the actual study with no luck (I only spent a couple of minutes looking for it); however, even the article you linked to has a quote from the doctor who completed the study where she clearly states spanking is a big gun for a big job (to paraphrase)."