honky

American  

[hong-kee, hawng-] / ˈhɒŋ ki, ˈhɔŋ- /

Also honker or honkie,

noun

Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.

plural

honkies

1. a contemptuous term used to refer to a white person.

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honky British  

/ ˈhɒŋkɪ /

noun

1. derogatory a White man or White men collectively

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Etymology

Origin of honky

1945–50, perhaps alteration of hunky ³

Example Sentences

"I've heard everything is honky dory and they're getting on great," says Tim Abbott, former managing director of Oasis's record label, Creation.

From BBC • Jul. 3, 2025

A honky tonk atmosphere meets the queer community when the KFM Country Karaoke Revue gets going at Permanent Records Roadhouse in Glassell Park.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2025

Nashville and its honky tonks on Broadway drew a record crowd of 600,000 people over three days in 2019.

From Washington Times • Apr. 25, 2023

Gilley — cousin of rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis — opened Gilley’s, “the world’s largest honky tonk,” in Pasadena, Texas, in the early 1970s.

From Seattle Times • May 7, 2022

Yet he also warned of “commercialism” that could mar the area’s beauty and expressed hope that there would be “no honky tonk growth.”

From Washington Post • Dec. 13, 2021