Bunk

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Dr. Goodword
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Bunk

Postby Dr. Goodword » Mon Jan 20, 2020 11:20 pm

• bunk •


Pronunciation: bêngk • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun, mass (No plural)

Meaning: (US slang) hogwash, baloney, balderdash, poppycock, codswallop, claptrap, humbug, bollocks, drivel, tommyrot, nonsense, gibberish, hooey, horsefeathers, malarkey, twaddle, gobbledygook.

Notes: Bunk is a clipping of bunkum. The Oxford English Dictionary lists two derivatives of this word, a verb bunkumize "to talk bunkum" and a personal noun, bunkumite "someone who talks bunkum", both from the 19th century.

In Play: If you think talking nonsense is a recent phenomenon, look at my sample of all that word's synonyms above! "I do believe Senator Foghorn believes his own bunk!" Washington, DC is home base for bunk, but we find it all around us every day: "Most of what Jess Buncombe tells of his fishing experience is pure bunk."

Word History: During the debates in the U.S. House of Representatives over whether Missouri should be admitted as a slave or free state, on February 25, 1820, North Carolina Representative Felix Walker (1753-1828) began a long, dull, irrelevant speech. He resisted all calls to cut it short by saying he was bound to say something that would appear in the newspapers back home to prove he was doing his job. "I shall not be speaking to the House," he confessed, "but to Buncombe [county]". Buncombe is pronounced bunkum. Bunkum (originally spelled buncombe) was attested in print in 1828. It must have been commonly spoken in Washington before then. (Thanks to another newcomer, Kevin Price, for recommending today's historically fascinating Good Word.)
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David Myer
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Re: Bunk

Postby David Myer » Tue Jan 21, 2020 7:04 am

Excellent! But why is a bunk bed? Do you have bunk beds in US? Where one bed sits on top on another? Often used in children's rooms where there is a shortage of space. Also found in boats.
Surely Buncombe can't take responsibility for them too.

LukeJavan8
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Re: Bunk

Postby LukeJavan8 » Tue Jan 21, 2020 1:12 pm

We have bunk beds. Also used in military barracks.
Good question.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

HelenBrits
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Re: Bunk

Postby HelenBrits » Wed Jan 22, 2020 3:01 am

Bunk also is a bed and also to do a runner, run away

bnjtokyo
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Re: Bunk

Postby bnjtokyo » Wed Jan 22, 2020 8:19 am

From the Online Etymology Dictionary that is linked to this site
bunk (n.1)
1758, "sleeping-berth in a vessel," later in a railroad car, etc., probably a shortened form of bunker (n.) in its sense of "seat." Bunk-bed (n.) attested by 1869.

Thus, the "bunk" that Dr Goodword chose to address this time is a different word (bunk-2). Also the "bunk" (bunk-3)mentioned by HelenBrit and defined as "a hurried departure or escape —usually used in the phrase do a bunk" is said to be chiefly British and was unknown to me until today. Merriam-Webster says it is from 1870 and is of unknown origin.

George Kovac
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Re: Bunk

Postby George Kovac » Wed Jan 22, 2020 12:46 pm

Bunk is sometimes used as a verb, meaning to sleep in an expedient place, as in: "After an argument with his wife, he had to bunk on the living room sofa for two nights."
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