derogatory slang word for "white person," 1967, black slang, of unknown origin, perhaps from late 19c. hunky "East-Central European immigrant," a colloquial shortening of Hungarian. Honky in the sense of "factory hand" is attested from 1946.
n. a white male; a Caucasian. (Black. Not necessarily derogatory. A pronunciation variant of hunky. Compare to jonx = junks.) : Some honky was around asking for you.
mod. in the manner of a Caucasian; white-like. : That's honky music. I want to hear soul.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences
Thieves and murderers were forced by boredom to haunt the honky-tonks.
It was kind of saying things were not quite honky-dory over there.
The first annoying aspect was the interminable wait to board in a honky-tonk souvenir shop setting.
And a wooden piano-a honky-tonk piano-with an eight-track stereo that actually plays.