honky-tonk

hon·ky-tonk

Slang a cheap, disreputable, noisy cabaret or nightclub
Slang a bar, esp. one where country music is played

Origin of honky-tonk

from uncertain or unknown; perhaps

Slang of or like a honky-tonk; specif., cheap, loud, low-class, etc.
designating or of a style of piano music having a bouncy rhythm and a tinkling sound

Slang to make the rounds of honky-tonks

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"honky-tonk." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 28 May 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/honky-tonk>.

APA Style

honky-tonk. (n.d.). Retrieved May 28th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/honky-tonk

honky-tonk

noun

A cheap, noisy bar or dance hall.

adjective

Of or relating to such a bar or dance hall; tawdry: a honky-tonk district; honky-tonk entertainers.
Of, relating to, or being a type of ragtime characteristically played on a tinny-sounding piano or in a honky-tonk.

intransitive verb

hon·ky-tonked, hon·ky-tonk·ing, hon·ky-tonks

To visit cheap, noisy bars or dance halls.

Origin of honky-tonk

Perhaps from honk

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"honky-tonk." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 28 May 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/honky-tonk>.

APA Style

honky-tonk. (n.d.). Retrieved May 28th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/honky-tonk

Noun

(plural honkytonks)

Alternative spelling of honky-tonk.

Noun

(plural honky-tonks)

(dated) A cheap nightclub
Gimme, gimme, gimme a honky-tonk girl. The Rolling Stones, "Honky-tonk Woman".
(dated) The type of music typically played in such a club
A style of country music emphasizing traditional country instruments (e.g., guitar, steel guitar and fiddle); a rough, nasal vocal style; and tragic themes such as heartbreak, infidelity and alcoholism.

Origin

From honk-a-tonk (“a cheap nightclub”), possibly imitative

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.