hokum

[hoh-kuh m] /ˈhoʊ kəm/
noun
1.
out-and-out nonsense; bunkum.
2.
elements of low comedy introduced into a play, novel, etc., for the laughs they may bring.
3.
sentimental matter of an elementary or stereotyped kind introduced into a play or the like.
4.
false or irrelevant material introduced into a speech, essay, etc., in order to arouse interest, excitement, or amusement.
Origin
1915-20, Americanism; probably blend of hocus-pocus and bunkum
Examples from the web for hokum
  • Mailer's obituaries tended to settle for the nil nisi hokum note.
  • Such miracles, in this day and age, bespeak a hokum beyond the reach of art.
  • What makes this hokum work as entertainment is the series' unquestioned belief in basic human benignity.
  • It may be a piece of well-polished hokum in plot, but it possesses a certain refreshing levity that makes it a good entertainment.
  • Much of it was probably hokum cooked up by paranoids and far-right crazies.
  • And if you doubt that folks believed such hokum, there is ample testimony to the contrary.
British Dictionary definitions for hokum

hokum

/ˈhəʊkəm/
noun (slang)
1.
claptrap; bunk
2.
obvious or hackneyed material of a sentimental nature in a play, film, etc
Word Origin
C20: probably a blend of hocus-pocus and bunkum
Word Origin and History for hokum
n.

1917, theater slang, "melodramatic, exaggerated acting," probably formed on model of bunkum (see bunk (2)), and perhaps influenced by or based on hocus-pocus.

Slang definitions & phrases for hokum

hokum

noun
  1. Pretentious nonsense; inane trash; bunk: more hokum from the Department of State
  2. A trick, gag, routine, etc, sure to please a gullible public: There is some hokum in ''King Penguin'' (Theater)
  3. hokey-pokey

[1917+; origin unknown; perhaps a blend of hocus-pocus and bunkum]