bunkum

[ buhng-kuhm ]

noun

1. insincere speechmaking by a politician intended merely to please local constituents.
2. insincere talk; claptrap; humbug.

bunkum

/ ˈbʌŋkəm /

noun

1. empty talk; nonsense
2. empty or insincere speechmaking by a politician to please voters or gain publicity

Word History and Origins

Origin of bunkum¹

An Americansim dating back to 1815–20; after a speech in the16th Congress (1819–21), by F. Walker, who said he was bound to speak for Buncombe (a county in the district in North Carolina that he represented)

Word History and Origins

Origin of bunkum¹

C19: after Buncombe , a county in North Carolina, alluded to in an inane speech by its Congressional representative Felix Walker (about 1820)

Example Sentences

Instead, increasing numbers of Americans have a media diet that is mostly a bunch of lies, conspiracy theories, irrelevant diatribes and other such bunkum that right-wing propagandists use to deceive people.

From Salon

"To suggest that we can't have effective scrutiny because of the size of the Senedd is a load of bunkum - look at the organ donation law, the smoking ban and plastic bags."

From BBC

Or in his own words - spat out in a Yorkshire growl - "bunkum and balderdash".

From BBC

I highly doubt Trump believed the bunkum he was peddling.

From Los Angeles Times

Nevertheless, according to Orfield, Microsoft’s claim is bunkum.

From New York Times

Related Words

• gibberish