Bunkum

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈbʌŋkəm/

Definitions

1. Senseless or insincere talk intended to deceive or impress others
2. Nonsensical or empty speech often designed to mislead or gain favor with an audience
3. Unmeaning or spurious language meant to distract or falsely persuade listeners

Etymology: Felix Walker, a congressman from North Carolina, gave a speech in 1820 that has outlived nearly everything else from that session. The Missouri question, whether the new state would enter the Union as free or slave, had been debated for nearly a month, and Walker finally rose just before the vote was to be called. He spoke at great length, and when colleagues grew impatient he explained that he was not addressing Congress at all but "to Buncombe," meaning his home county in western North Carolina, named for Edward Buncombe. He was shouted down, but his speech was printed in a Washington paper. The phrase stuck. "Speaking to Buncombe" came to mean talk aimed at constituents rather than at the people actually listening, and the shortened "buncombe" became a name for meaningless political claptrap. The Washington jargon of the time spread into common speech, and the spelling was later changed to "bunkum," which came to mean any kind of nonsense.

Synonyms: nonsense, rubbish, balderdash, drivel, humbug

Antonyms: sense, truth, fact, reality, validity