When my brother and I were young boys it was customary that we always show off our new haircuts to my father. Without fail, he would tell us to turn around so he would have better access to the back of our freshly shaved necks. Then, he would lick his finger and quickly run it up against those very short hairs (in the opposite direction of their growth) and say "Rinktum". It was sort of a declaration of his approval--although I don't ever remember him disapproving. It was always received as an act of endearment by both of us, and we are not aware that he ever used the word in any other way, or on any other occasion. Funny, but we never asked him what it meant or where it came from. We assumed that it was just another one of his many old-fashioned customs. He was raised on a dairy farm with many brothers and sisters, by highly educated and religious parents, in central North Carolina. Perhaps it was a local custom that somehow migrated from Texas (as was mentioned above).