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buncombe

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buncombe


  3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Buncombe  \Bun"combe\,  Bunkum  \Bun"kum\,  n.  [Buncombe  a  county  of 
  North  Carolina.] 
  Speech-making  for  the  gratification  of  constituents,  or  to 
  gain  public  applause;  flattering  talk  for  a  selfish  purpose; 
  anything  said  for  mere  show  [Cant  or  Slang,  U.S.] 
 
  All  that  flourish  about  right  of  search  was  bunkum  -- 
  all  that  brag  about  hanging  your  Canada  sheriff  was 
  bunkum  .  .  .  slavery  speeches  are  all  bunkum. 
  --Haliburton. 
 
  {To  speak  for  Buncombe},  to  speak  for  mere  show  or 
  popularly. 
 
  Note:  ``The  phrase  originated  near  the  close  of  the  debate  on 
  the  famous  `Missouri  Question,'  in  the  16th  Congress. 
  It  was  then  used  by  Felix  Walker  --  a  na["i]ve  old 
  mountaineer,  who  resided  at  Waynesville,  in  Haywood, 
  the  most  western  country  of  North  Carolina,  near  the 
  border  of  the  adjacent  county  of  Buncombe,  which  formed 
  part  of  his  district.  The  old  man  rose  to  speak,  while 
  the  house  was  impatiently  calling  for  the  `Question,' 
  and  several  members  gathered  round  him  begging  him  to 
  desist.  He  preserved,  however,  for  a  while  declaring 
  that  the  people  of  his  district  expected  it  and  that 
  he  was  bound  to  `make  a  speech  for  Buncombe.'''  --W. 
  Darlington. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  buncombe 
  n  :  a  ludicrously  false  statement  [syn:  {bullshit},  {bull},  {Irish 
  bull},  {horseshit},  {shit},  {crap},  {bunk},  {bunkum},  {guff}, 
  {rot},  {hogwash},  {dogshit}] 
 
  From  U.S.  Gazetteer  (1990)  [gazetteer]: 
 
  Buncombe,  IL  (village,  FIPS  9551) 
  Location:  37.47094  N,  88.97486  W 
  Population  (1990):  208  (94  housing  units) 
  Area:  3.1  sq  km  (land),  0.0  sq  km  (water) 
  Zip  code(s):  62912 




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