honky-tonk

hon·ky-tonk

 (hông′kē-tôngk′, hŏng′kē-tŏngk′)

n.

A cheap, noisy bar or dance hall.

adj.

1. Of or relating to such a bar or dance hall; tawdry: a honky-tonk district; honky-tonk entertainers.

2. Of, relating to, or being a type of ragtime characteristically played on a tinny-sounding piano or in a honky-tonk.

intr.v. hon·ky-tonked, hon·ky-tonk·ing, hon·ky-tonks

To visit cheap, noisy bars or dance halls.

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[Perhaps from honk.]

honky-tonk

(ˈhɒŋkɪˌtɒŋk)

n

1. slang

a. a cheap disreputable nightclub, bar, etc

b. (as modifier): a honky-tonk district.

2. (Jazz) a style of ragtime piano-playing, esp on a tinny-sounding piano

3. (Music, other) a type of country music, usually performed by a small band with electric and steel guitars

4. (Music, other) (as modifier): honky-tonk music.

[C19: rhyming compound based on honk]

honk•y-tonk

(ˈhɒŋ kiˌtɒŋk, ˈhɔŋ kiˌtɔŋk)

n., adj., v. -tonked, -tonk•ing. n.

1. a cheap, noisy, garish nightclub or dance hall.

adj.

2. of or characteristic of a honky-tonk.

3. characterized by honky-tonks: the honky-tonk part of town.

4. of or pertaining to ragtime music played on a tinny-sounding upright piano.

v.i.

5. to visit honky-tonks.

Also, honk′y-tonk`y.

[1890–95, orig. uncertain]

honky-tonk

- May come from the New England dialect word honk, "to idle about," and is a rhyming duplication.

See also related terms for idleness.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

honky-tonk - a cheap drinking and dancing establishment barrelhouse bar, barroom, ginmill, saloon, taproom - a room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter; "he drowned his sorrows in whiskey at the bar"

honky-tonk

noun

Slang. A disreputable or run-down bar or restaurant:

Slang: dive, joint.

Translations

honky-tonk

[ˈhɒŋkɪˌtɒŋk] N

1. (US) (= club) → garito m

2. (Mus) → honky-tonk m

honky-tonk

n (US inf: = country-music bar) → Schuppen m (inf)

adj music, piano → schräg; honky-tonk bar → Schuppen m (inf)