bohunk

English

Etymology

Probably Bohemian + Hungarian. Compare hunk, hunky, honky.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈboʊhʌŋk/

Noun

bohunk (plural bohunks)

1. (Canada, US, ethnic slur) An immigrant from Central Europe, Eastern Europe, or the Balkans, especially one who is regarded as vain, aggressively masculine, and socially unsophisticated.
   • 1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 287:

     I know you're surprised that I live in a Czech neighborhood. But my father-in-law, a smart old Jew, bought investment property in this nice safe Bohunk district.

2. (Canada, US, derogatory) A brawny or coarse person.

References

• Katherine Barber, editor (1998), “bohunk”, in The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN.