- honky-tonk
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—honky-tonker, n./hong"kee tongk', hawng"kee tawngk'/, n.1. a cheap, noisy, and garish nightclub or dance hall.adj.2. Also, honky-tonky /hong"kee tong'kee, hawng"kee tawng'-/.3. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a honky-tonk: a honky-tonk atmosphere.4. characterized by or having a large number of honky-tonks: the honky-tonk part of town.5. 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.v.i.6. to visit or frequent honky-tonks.[1890-95, Amer.; rhyming compound based on HONK]
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Universalium. 2010.