Bunkum

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Bunkum \Bun"kum\, n.
     See {Buncombe}.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:



  Buncombe \Bun"combe\, Bunkum \Bun"kum\, n. [Buncombe a county of
     North Carolina.]
     Speech-making for the gratification of constituents, or to
     gain public applause; flattering talk for a selfish purpose;
     anything said for mere show. [Cant or Slang, U.S.]
     [1913 Webster]
  
           All that flourish about right of search was bunkum --
           all that brag about hanging your Canada sheriff was
           bunkum . . . slavery speeches are all bunkum.
                                                    --Haliburton.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     {To speak for Buncombe}, to speak for mere show, or
        popularly.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: "The phrase originated near the close of the debate on
           the famous `Missouri Question,' in the 16th Congress.
           It was then used by Felix Walker -- a na["i]ve old
           mountaineer, who resided at Waynesville, in Haywood,
           the most western country of North Carolina, near the
           border of the adjacent county of Buncombe, which formed
           part of his district. The old man rose to speak, while
           the house was impatiently calling for the `Question,'
           and several members gathered round him, begging him to
           desist. He persevered, however, for a while, declaring
           that the people of his district expected it, and that
           he was bound to `make a speech for Buncombe.'" --W.
           Darlington.
           [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  bunkum
       n : unacceptable behavior (especially ludicrously false
           statements) [syn: {bunk}, {buncombe}, {guff}, {rot}, {hogwash}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  95 Moby Thesaurus words for "bunkum":
     Grade A, Washingtonese, adulation, applesauce, balderdash, balls,
     baloney, bang-up, big talk, bilge, blague, blah, blah-blah,
     blandishment, blarney, blue-ribbon, bop, bosh, boss, bull,
     bullshit, bunk, cajolement, cajolery, champion, claptrap,
     compliment, crap, eyewash, fair words, fancy talk, fawning,
     federalese, fine talk, first-string, fish story, fit, flam,
     flapdoodle, flattery, flimflam, gammon, gas, gobbledygook, grease,
     guff, gup, hale, highfalutin, highfaluting, hogwash, hoke, hokum,
     honeyed phrases, honeyed words, hooey, hot air, humbug, humbuggery,
     incense, jiggery-pokery, malarkey, moonshine, official jargon,
     officialese, oil, palaver, piffle, political doubletalk, poppycock,
     praise, pretty lies, pussyfooting, right, rot, sane, scat, shit,
     soap, soft soap, sound, sweet nothings, sweet talk, sweet words,
     sycophancy, tall story, tall talk, tommyrot, top, top-notch, tripe,
     well, wheedling, wholesome, wind