Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Used as a disparaging term for a white person.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A white (caucasian) person; -- a term used by some African-Americans, intended to be disparaging and often taken as offensive.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun North America, pejorative, ethnic slur A Caucasian person.
  • noun US, obsolete A factory hand or general unskilled worker.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun (slang) offensive names for a White man

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Possibly blend of Wolof honq, red, pink, of light complexion, and hunky.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Sense of “factory hand” attested from 1946. Compare hunky, bohunk.

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Examples

  • How disappointed all of you human baktags will be when you find out He is just an Irish/German honky from the Midwest USA.

    R-RATED WALK HARD TRAILER 2007

  • Introducing block rockin 'honky-tonk, New American music for the 21st century, built with love in a little studio, hand crafted, running on inspiration and imagination and duct tape, calling on the spirit of Gram Parsons and Otis Redding and KRS-ONE and Dolly Parton and Nina Simone and Willie Nelson and Missy Elliott and Johnny Cash, to write about what we feel and play what our hearts tell us, because to make it happen is reason enough, and to share it with the world is all the reason you need, because we tell the truth with music and the truth is beautiful.

    Boing Boing 2008

  • Jeanne Moos tells us about an event that's being called honky-tonk meets the White House wonk.

    CNN Transcript May 15, 2007 2007

  • It's part of the band's strategy to play as many different types of venues as possible, from traditional bluegrass festivals (including the band's own Mountain Song Festival in Brevard) and sit-down venues, to places that used to be called honky-tonks.

    news | WM | http://www.starnewsonline.com 2009

  • Danny´s new partner is experimentimg with salsas and has come up with some good ideas although his salsas need more spiciness so I have suggested he have regular "honky" salsa and a more picante "Dawg" salsa for the more adventurous diner.

    General Lee - Burgers & Booze 2009

  • Danny´s new partner is experimentimg with salsas and has come up with some good ideas although his salsas need more spiciness so I have suggested he have regular "honky" salsa and a more picante "Dawg" salsa for the more adventurous diner.

    General Lee - Burgers & Booze 2009

  • Danny´s new partner is experimentimg with salsas and has come up with some good ideas although his salsas need more spiciness so I have suggested he have regular "honky" salsa and a more picante "Dawg" salsa for the more adventurous diner.

    General Lee - Burgers & Booze 2009

  • Why is it that it's ok to call a white person a "honky," "cracker," "trailer trash," or any other racist comments, but for a fictitious character to portray as having a TRAIT of an ethnic people is vulgar and offensive?

    No One Wants To Own Up To Racism In Transformers | /Film 2009

  • This makes sense, since we're living in the Age of Irony, and people now seem to be flocking to the city only to transform it into some kind of honky-tonk theme park.

    Ambiguity: Mixed Messages and Style Overlap BikeSnobNYC 2009

  • But I also thought you could have been alluding to "honky" with "honk honk."

    EAGEAGEAG EAGEAGEAG 2009

Comments

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  • I'm so offended.

    November 30, 2007

  • *honks 3 times*

    September 11, 2008