Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Something apparently impressive or legitimate but actually untrue or insincere; nonsense.
- noun A stock technique for eliciting a desired response from an audience.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
Meaningless nonsense with an outwardappearance of beingimpressive andlegitimate .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a message that seems to convey no meaning
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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He fought a long battle against what he called hokum, ideas with no basis, which gain spurious credibility by repetition (in the way that so many celebrities are celebrities for no other reason than that they are regarded as such by the media and society pop pundits).
Club Troppo 2009
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However this sort of hokum is not proscribed within the class CBlockbuster, is in fact a widely accepted strategy for achieving resolution.
Ethics and Enthusiasm Hal Duncan 2009
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What’s more, you’re “love it or leave it” hokum is the height of anti-American rhetorical irony.
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So the integrity of the Commission, the veracity of all the testimony it heard, and the legitimacy of its recommendations were, in fact, widely dismissed as hokum because it was clear to "everyone who could read the facts" (or hokum, which is it?) that the whole thing was Jamie Gorelick's fault?
In Letter, Albright And Berger Demand Kean Get ABC To Kill Film 2009
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It is extremely high-grade hokum, which is to say it offers several different and combustible varieties.
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It is perceived as "hokum" because on one hand Edwards denounced 527's along with other special interest groups (as detailed above) but on the other refused to request that one operating on his behalf cease their advertising.
Krugman Hits Obama Yet Again -- This Time On Battle With Edwards Over 527s 2009
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As far as having two thirds seats being "hokum" that is not something you are in any position to declare until AFTER the election.
On Thursday, the Legg report will be published along with... 2008
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In this case, moving the funny-page content to a page formerly devoted to the news just might notch up the credulity paid to what would normally be considered standard WSH editorial right wing "hokum," to borrow a word from Li'l Abner's mammy, Pansy.
Printing: Rove's Obama Hit-Job Re-Run Oozes Out of Murdoch's Wall Street Journal Op-Ed Section 2008
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The novel has an ending I wish I never read, not because it is "hokum," as one critic wrote, but because it bothers me so intensely.
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In this case, moving the funny-page content to a page formerly devoted to the news just might notch up the credulity paid to what would normally be considered standard WSH editorial right wing "hokum," to borrow a word from Li'l Abner's mammy, Pansy.
Rove's Obama Hit-Job Re-Run Oozes Out of Murdoch's Wall Street Journal Op-Ed Section 2008
missanthropist commented on the word hokum
n. Flattery, insincerity; nonsense, bunk, blah.
Any stage devise used purely to please the audience, any proven song, joke, or line sure to elicit the desired response. Proven but hackneyed or trite material used in the theatre.
Cheap, sugary candy, shoddy souvenirs, any useless item such as is sold at carnival booths.
July 16, 2008
bilby commented on the word hokum
Ufff, WeirdNet (2) strikes again.
September 13, 2008