buncombe

[buhng-kuh m]

noun

bunkum.

bunkum

or bun·combe

[buhng-kuh m]

noun

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

Origin of bunkum

Americanism; after speech in 16th Congress, 1819–21, by F. Walker, who said he was bound to speak for Buncombe (N.C. county in district he represented)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for buncombe

Historical Examples of buncombe

What is the origin of the term “buncombe” as popularly used?
Southern Literature From 1579-1895
Louise Manly
But as for this theory that all wisdom resides in the people, it's buncombe.
A Far Country, Complete
Winston Churchill
Of his landlord, Buncombe, he gradually learnt all that he cared to know.
The Whirlpool
George Gissing
Some kind of buncombe, of course, replied Tom, thoughtfully.
The Motor Boat Club in Florida
H. Irving Hancock
Had that fainting spell been buncombe for his benefit as well as Florence's?
The Million Dollar Mystery
Harold MacGrath

British Dictionary definitions for buncombe

buncombe

noun

a variant spelling (esp US) of bunkum

bunkum

buncombe

noun

empty talk; nonsense
mainly US empty or insincere speechmaking by a politician to please voters or gain publicity

Word Origin for bunkum

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for buncombe

see bunk (n.2).

bunkum

variant of Buncombe.