hokum


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Related to hokum: HOCUM

ho·kum

 (hō′kəm)
n.
1. Something apparently impressive or legitimate but actually untrue or insincere; nonsense.
2. A stock technique for eliciting a desired response from an audience.

[Perhaps ho(cus-pocus) + (bun)kum.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hokum

(ˈhəʊkəm)
n
1. claptrap; bunk
2. (Theatre) obvious or hackneyed material of a sentimental nature in a play, film, etc
[C20: probably a blend of hocus-pocus and bunkum]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ho•kum

(ˈhoʊ kəm)

n.
1. utter nonsense; bunkum.
2. elements of low comedy or stale melodrama introduced into a play or story for laughter or effect.
[1915–20, Amer.; probably b. hocus -pocus and bunkum]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.hokum - a message that seems to convey no meaninghokum - a message that seems to convey no meaning
subject matter, content, message, substance - what a communication that is about something is about
absurdity, absurdness, ridiculousness - a message whose content is at variance with reason
amphigory, nonsense verse - nonsensical writing (usually verse)
balderdash, fiddle-faddle, piffle - trivial nonsense
buzzword, cant - stock phrases that have become nonsense through endless repetition
cobblers - nonsense; "I think that is a load of cobblers"
crock - nonsense; foolish talk; "that's a crock"
fa la, fal la - meaningless syllables in the refrain of a partsong
gibber, gibberish - unintelligible talking
unintelligibility, incoherence, incoherency - nonsense that is simply incoherent and unintelligible
jabberwocky - nonsensical language (according to Lewis Carroll)
mummery, flummery - meaningless ceremonies and flattery
empty talk, empty words, hot air, palaver, rhetoric - loud and confused and empty talk; "mere rhetoric"
rigamarole, rigmarole - a set of confused and meaningless statements
schmegegge, shmegegge - (Yiddish) baloney; hot air; nonsense
hooey, poppycock, stuff and nonsense, stuff - senseless talk; "don't give me that stuff"
baloney, bilgewater, boloney, bosh, drool, humbug, tommyrot, tosh, twaddle, taradiddle, tarradiddle - pretentious or silly talk or writing
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

hokum

[ˈhəʊkəm] N (esp US) → tonterías fpl
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

hokum

[ˈhəʊkəm] n (= nonsense) → tissu m d'absurdités
The book is enjoyable hokum → Le livre est un tissu d'absurdités plutôt divertissant.
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

hokum

n (US inf)
(= nonsense)Quatsch m (inf), → Mumpitz m
(= cheap sentiment)Gefühlsduselei f (inf)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
References in periodicals archive ?
Don't fall for this piece of hokum. The operation is just one big scam.
It's the second big screen version of Stephen King's 1983 novel and although fans may appreciate its earnest approach and fidelity to the source material, I struggle to stomach his addled hokum at the best of times and this had me giggling at all the wrong moments.
There are two hands to the game: Hokum and Sun, with 32 cards dealt, excluding the numbers 2-6 but including the Joker.
TONIGHT HOKUM HOTSHOTS: Blues at the Bay, Cleveland Bay, Eaglescliffe SATURDAY THE BLACK SHEEP FREDERICK DICKENS: The Green Room, Stockton pay what you decide 8pm THE DELMONTS: Western Social Club, Middlesbrough small cover charge 8.45pm JOHNNY & LYNETTE MARIE: Ranch House Club, Thoralby Farm, Hutton Rudby SUNDAY CONSEPT & D6IXS: Head of Steam Norton free 6pm THE DELMONTS: Western Social Club, Middlesbrough small cover charge 8.45pm
NORTH East jazz act The Hokum Hotshots are providing the soundtrack for an evening of food and music in Sunderland.
Not that faith-based audiences will object to the unapologetic manipulations in such an innocuous slice of inspirational hokum, especially when it's served up with the utmost sincerity.
The Russian designed Ka-50 Hokum which can carry a huge weapon load in its four external hardpoints to carry 24 Vikhr missiles, four 20-round rocket pods, or a mixture.
It's a fitting title for this psychological thriller, written and directed by Alejandro Amenabar, which takes a tantalising premise based on true events about satanism in small-town America, and fashions it into formulaic, yawn-inducing hokum.
THE WOLFMAN Film4 11.10PM Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins are both beastly in this highgrade hokum. Revamping Lon Chaney Jr's 1941 B-pic, it gets things more right than wrong.
His publishing company, Hawk Crest Publishing, was also awarded three additional gold medallions for "Outstanding Achievement in the Publishing of Western Literature" for each book, which are all a part of Wilson's "Unkle Hokum" series.
He sets out to prove the actual roots of rock occurred not in the commonly propagated postwar rhythm and blues era, or even the Delta blues tradition, but rather originated in an amalgamation of "Jazz, hokum, boogie-woogie, mambo, calypso ...