Word of the Day

: January 16, 2024

bunkum

noun BUNG-kum

What It Means

Bunkum is an old-fashioned and informal word that refers to foolish or insincere talk or ideas.

// As usual, the politician let out a load of bunkum during his speech.

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bunkum in Context

"The German chemist’s interests also stretched to human nutrition. He became convinced the juices that flowed out of cooked meat contained valuable nutritional compounds and encouraged cooks to sear the meat to seal in the juices. This turned out to be complete bunkum, but 150 years later his advice is still followed by Christmas dinner chefs across the land." — Mark Lorch, The Conversation, 20 Dec. 2021

Did You Know?

Some words in the English language have more colorful histories than others. In the case of bunkum, you could almost say it was an act of Congress that brought the word into being. Back in 1820, Felix Walker, who represented North Carolina's Buncombe County in the U.S. House of Representatives, was determined that his voice be heard on his constituents' behalf, even though the matter up for debate was irrelevant to Walker's district and he had little of substance to contribute. To the exasperation of his colleagues, Walker insisted on delivering a long and wearisome "speech for Buncombe." His persistent—if insignificant—harangue made buncombe (later respelled bunkum) a synonym for meaningless political claptrap and came later to refer to any kind of nonsense.