Where did the word honky dory come from?

Answer 1

According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the word "honky" is "Used as a disparaging term for a white person."

There seems to be much speculation on the origin of the word, depending on who you ask.

Various speculative theories on the origin "honky":

* It is derived from "bohunk" (bohemian + Hungarian) and "hunky." * It stems from the practice of white males looking for African-American prostitutes in the 1920's, and going to the part of town where they lived and honking their car horns to attract the attention of the whores. Another theory states that, since few African-Americans could afford a car in that era, the honking signaled a well-paying white client.

* The term comes from the word "honky-tonk", which dates back to 1875 in reference to the wild saloons of the Old West. The patrons of these saloons were referred to as "honkies," and although this was not intended as a racial slur, it was nevertheless a disparaging term.

To read more about this word and its origin, see Answers.com as well as the Urban Dictionary (see Related Links).

Answer 2

An excellent question! I have a plausible theory that allows for people hearing things diffently and words becoming corrupted. the phrase was first popular with broad summer areas such as beach resorts and amusement parks(Like Coney Island) and there wee and may still be a variety of borderline restaurant-night clubs on the boardwalk or midway area that are open in the fornt to facilitate cooling and pedestrian traffic access- man carnival buildigns are of this type-more substantial than a lean-to but still OPEN FRONT. My Guess Honky-Tonk Maybe be a corruption og OPEN FRONT Could also refer to a style of evening gown also called Empire or Strapless(wornby H-T performers by the way) and called an OPEN FRONT/ Listent o the song (sweet gypsy rose0 nad read in Open Front-rather than honky tonk and it still makes sense(Tony Orlando Song) that"s my educated guess. It is not a foreign word like Bistro or Pizzeria.

Answer 3

c. 1866, Amer.Eng. (popularized c.1870 by a Christy Minstrel song), perhaps a reduplication of hunkey "all right, satisfactory" (1861), from hunk "in a safe position" (1847) New York City slang, from Du. honk "goal, home," from M.Du. honc "place of refuge, hiding place." A theory from 1876, however, traces it to Honcho dori, said to be a street in Yokohama, Japan, where sailors went for diversions of the sort sailors enjoy prior to bluing and tattooing.