Ever wonder where the term "Hunky Dory" came from?
Read on- It was news to me, too!
If something is hunky-dory, it is just fine, perfect and as it should be - 'Everything's hunky-dory' is perhaps the most common expression containing the phrase.
It dates from the nineteenth century and was invented by American sailors who used it to describe a street named Honcho-dori in Yokahoma, Japan.
The street used to be well known for the services it provided to lonely sailors, who went there to enjoy what was on offer.
It must have taken the linguistic ingenuity of one such sailor to make a connection between the words Honcho and hunky and to invent the punning alternative name for the road, Hunky-dori. The pun would have made sense too, as hunk used to also mean well-being and safety.
The new phrase caught on quickly and a sailor who was hunky-dori was happy for one reason or another.
Over the years it lost its association with a certain street of vice and what went on there, and took on the much nicer connotations of general well-being.
More opinion on the subject:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/hunky-dory.html
So there you have it!
Joe. :teeth :thup
Read on- It was news to me, too!
If something is hunky-dory, it is just fine, perfect and as it should be - 'Everything's hunky-dory' is perhaps the most common expression containing the phrase.
It dates from the nineteenth century and was invented by American sailors who used it to describe a street named Honcho-dori in Yokahoma, Japan.
The street used to be well known for the services it provided to lonely sailors, who went there to enjoy what was on offer.
It must have taken the linguistic ingenuity of one such sailor to make a connection between the words Honcho and hunky and to invent the punning alternative name for the road, Hunky-dori. The pun would have made sense too, as hunk used to also mean well-being and safety.
The new phrase caught on quickly and a sailor who was hunky-dori was happy for one reason or another.
Over the years it lost its association with a certain street of vice and what went on there, and took on the much nicer connotations of general well-being.
More opinion on the subject:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/hunky-dory.html
So there you have it!
Joe. :teeth :thup