Lexic.us

Definition of Bunkum

1. Noun. Unacceptable behavior (especially ludicrously false statements).

Definition of Bunkum

1. n. See Buncombe.

Definition of Bunkum

1. Noun. (slang) senseless talk; nonsense; a piece of nonsense (countable) ¹

2. Noun. ''(Washington circa 1828)'' any bombastic political posturing or an oratorical display not accompanied by conviction; speechmaking designed for show or public applause. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Bunkum

1. nonsense [n -S] - See also: nonsense

Medical Definition of Bunkum

1. Speech-making for the gratification of constituents, or to gain public applause; flattering talk for a selfish purpose; anything said for mere show. "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) To speak for Buncombe, to speak for mere show, or popularly. "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 naive old mountaineer, who resided at Waynesville, in Haywood, the most western country of North Carolina, near the border of the adjacent country 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 preserved, however, for a while, declaring that the people of his district expected it, and that he was bound to 'make a speech for Buncombe.'" Origin: Buncombe a country of North Carolina. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Bunkum

Literary usage of Bunkum

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Christian Remembrancer by William Scott (1843)
"I'll tell you then what bunkum is. All over America every place like to hear of ... Now the state of Maine is a great place (or bunkum—its members for years ..."

2. The Attaché: Or Sam Slick in England by Thomas Chandler Haliburton (1856)
"All that flourish about Right o' Sarch was bunkum—all that brag about ... All the speeches about the Caroline, and Creole, and Right of Sarch, was bunkum. ..."

3. A Centennial History of the Villages of Iroquois and Montgomery and the by Salem Ely (1918)
"Named bunkum This group of towns, at the beginning of their history, were derisively called bunkum. The name in time grew so popular that they were not ..."

4. Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine (1880)
"THE REIGN OF bunkum. A LETTER TO JOHN BULL, ESQ. IK that enlightened Journal which reflects the " sweet reasonableness" of the Scottish Radical —a journal, ..."

5. A Journey in the Back Country by Frederick Law Olmsted (1860)
"The South sends more " orators" to Washington than the North, and the nuisance of Washington is " bunkum" ..."

6. A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant: Embracing English, American, and Anglo by Albert Barrère, Charles Godfrey Leland (1889)
"bunkum. See BUNCOMBE. Bunny grub (Cheltenham College), green vegetables, called "grass" at the Royal Military Academy. ..."

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