a cheap, noisy, and garish nightclub or dance hall.
adjective
2.
Also, honky-tonky
[hong-kee-tong-kee, hawng-kee-tawng-] /ˈhɒŋ kiˌtɒŋ ki, ˈhɔŋ kiˌtɔŋ-/ (Show IPA). of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a honky-tonk:
a honky-tonk atmosphere.
3.
characterized by or having a large number of honky-tonks:
the honky-tonk part of town.
4.
Music. noting a style of ragtime piano-playing characterized by a strict two-four or four-four bass, either contrapuntal or chordal, and a melody embellished with chords and syncopated rhythms, typically performed on a piano whose strings have been muffled and given a tinny sound.
verb (used without object)
5.
to visit or frequent honky-tonks.
Origin
1890-95, Americanism; rhyming compound based on honk
Related forms
honky-tonker, noun
Examples from the web for honky-tonk
The first annoying aspect was the interminable wait to board in a honky-tonk souvenir shop setting.
So it has been with the music's new traditionalist movement, a shined-up honky-tonk style that is nearly a decade old.
British Dictionary definitions for honky-tonk
honky-tonk
/ˈhɒŋkɪˌtɒŋk/
noun
1.
(US & Canadian, slang)
a cheap disreputable nightclub, bar, etc
(as modifier): a honky-tonk district
2.
a style of ragtime piano-playing, esp on a tinny-sounding piano
3.
a type of country music, usually performed by a small band with electric and steel guitars
4.
(as modifier): honky-tonk music
Word Origin
C19: rhyming compound based on honk
Word Origin and History for honky-tonk
n.
"cheap night club," by 1898, Southern U.S., of unknown origin. As a type of music played in that sort of low saloon, it is attested from 1921.
Slang definitions & phrases for honky-tonk
honky-tonk
modifier
Gambling and drinking: wisely emphasizes Brown's down-and-dirty honkytonkin' side
Prostitution: the honky-tonk district
noun
A cheap, usually disreputable saloon and gambling place; joint: rode to my honky-tonk on a bus
A cheap, small-town theater: playin' the sticks, the honky-tonks
A brothel
verb
: his honky-tonking ended, naturally, at Filly's, the urban cowboy saloon