A bunk is a narrow bed, often stacked as a bunk bed**, but the word has acquired a second, more colorful meaning: **nonsense, rubbish, or something fake**. “That’s bunk” means “that’s not true” — a shortened form of “bunkum,” which comes from a spectacularly boring 1820 speech by U.S. Congressman Felix Walker.
Walker represented Buncombe County, North Carolina. During a debate on the Missouri Compromise, he insisted on delivering a long, pointless speech despite pleas to stop. He claimed he was speaking not to Congress but to his constituents — “to Buncombe.” The word became synonymous with empty political rhetoric, then broadened to any nonsense or fraud.
Why It Matters
“Bunk” is one of the most politically derived words in English. It entered the language because one man was too stubborn to stop talking, and his county’s name became a global synonym for bullshit. That’s linguistic immortality.
The word also powers “debunk” — to expose the nonsense, literally “to remove the bunk from.” A good debunker is someone who clears away the Buncombe County rhetoric and finds the facts underneath.
Examples
- “That’s bunk”: The casual dismissal of an obvious lie.
- Bunkum/buncombe: The original spelling, still used occasionally.
- Debunk: The journalistic and scientific act of removing bunk.
Related Terms
- Nonsense, baloney, hogwash
- Debunk, fact-check, expose
- Missouri Compromise, Felix Walker