First Known Use: 1908
Dictionary
hokum
noun ho·kum \ˈhō-kəm\
: foolish or untrue words or ideas
: writing, music, etc., that is too dramatic or sentimental and not very original
Full Definition of HOKUM
1
: a device used (as by showmen) to evoke a desired audience response
2
: pretentious nonsense : bunkum
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Origin of HOKUM
probably blend of hocus-pocus and bunkum
Related to HOKUM
- Synonyms
- applesauce [slang], balderdash, baloney (also boloney), beans, bilge, blah (also blah-blah), blarney, blather, blatherskite, blither, bosh, bull [slang], bunk, bunkum (or buncombe), claptrap, codswallop [British], crapola [slang], crock, drivel, drool, fiddle, fiddle-faddle, fiddlesticks, flannel [British], flapdoodle, folderol (also falderal), folly, foolishness, fudge, garbage, guff, hogwash, hokeypokey, nonsense, hoodoo, hooey, horsefeathers [slang], humbug, humbuggery, jazz, malarkey (also malarky), moonshine, muck, nerts [slang], nuts, piffle, poppycock, punk, rot, rubbish, senselessness, silliness, slush, stupidity, taradiddle (or tarradiddle), tommyrot, tosh, trash, trumpery, twaddle
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