When did all the Scandinavian gnomes become Gonks?

[Whatsleftnow]

Last year they were gnomes, elves and occasionally doorstops but now, everywhere I look they’re called “gonks”.

How did this happen? Who decided? Have they formed a union?

Of all the strange happenings in the world in the last few years, this might me the one that tips me over the edge.

Anyone else noticed this strange and sudden gonk phenomenon?

Been displays like that every year for years now, taking over the Christmas section in the shops. The creepy elf on the shelf type elves started appearing a couple of years ago, they're just out of shot there, certainly prefer these ones.

I had a few gonks in the late 60''s, early 70's, so they aren't new things. I know nothing about the ones this year though.

@Whatsleftnow Yes, this was terrifying.

IKEA are selling massive ones, the size of a small child this year

Aggh! That’s so scary!

Of COURSE there's a random mumsnet thread about the topic I've just been fruitlessly scouring the Internet about!

I cannot fathom where the word 'gonk' itself came from & can't find an explanation anywhere. Just all of a sudden these things which aren't called gonks are called gonks, like, from nowhere? It's actually driving me a bit mad.

Maybe Suzie Dent from Countdown will know...

I make gnomes and it really irks me that people have started calling them gonks.

I know this is a year old, but I thought it was funny that I have been asking this same thing.

We don't do elf on the shelf instead we have a 'gonk'... been doing it at least 3+ years.

DS was obsessed with 'booba' and he thought thats what gonks are and got excited seeing them in shops... we got the word gonk from what everywhere selling them as such.

NEVER seen them listed as 'Gnomes', surely a Gnome is an entirely different thing (the statuettes that sit in your garden).