Hunky Dory - Wiktionary

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• 1 English Toggle English subsection
  • 1.1 Alternative forms
  • 1.2 Etymology
  • 1.3 Pronunciation
  • 1.4 Adjective
    • 1.4.1 Translations
  • 1.5 References
  • 1.6 Further reading

• Entry
• Discussion

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In other projects Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wiktionary, the free dictionary See also: hunkydory and hunky-dory

English

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Alternative forms

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• hunky-dory, hunkydory, hunkidory, hunky dorey, hunky-dorey, hunkydorey

Etymology

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American English, 1860s.[1][2] From hunky (“in good condition”, “safe and sound”) + dory (origin and meaning unknown).[3]

Pronunciation

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• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: hŭng'kidôʹri, IPA(key): /ˌhʌŋkiˈdɔːɹi/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

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hunky dory (comparative more hunky dory, superlative most hunky dory)

1. (informal) Satisfactory, fine. Synonyms: alright, fine, tickety-boo, right as rain Now that I’ve found my missing book, everything’s hunky-dory again.
   • 1880 January 6, Mrs. Frank McCarthy, “How Aunt Pam Became a Smuggler”, in Harper's Young People‎[1]:It was no easy job, I can tell you. We worked like beavers to get the cave the way we wanted it; but when it was done, it was what you may call hunky-dory.
   • 1913 October, Jack London, The Valley of the Moon, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC:But you just go on lovin' him, and leanin' on his judgement—he's no fool—and you'll be all hunky-dory.
   • 1922, Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, →OCLC:But you seem to be feeling all hunky-dory again, and why don’t you come join us in the Good Citizens’ League, old man?
   • 2022 September 29, Carl Zimmer, “A New Approach to Spotting Tumors: Look for Their Microbes”, in The New York Times‎[2], archived from the original on 26 December 2022:“OK, it’s associated with a specific tumor type, but does that just mean that it’s living hunky-dory with the tumor, or is it actually causing the tumor to get bigger and progress?” Dr. Galloway-Peña asked. “You just don’t know at this point.”
   • 2023 May 28, James Tapper, quoting woman approaching middle age, “‘We should be closer to Europe’: Brexit regrets simmer in leave-voting Boston”, in The Observer‎[3], →ISSN, archived from the original on 10 June 2023:“There’s always got to be a period of adjustment. You can’t expect everything to be hunky dory straight away. I don’t disagree with it [Brexit][sic] but we need to get in charge and sweep out the political class.”

Translations

[edit] informal way to say satisfactory

Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can Polish: cacy (pl)

References

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1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2025), “hunky-dory”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
2. ^ “hunky-dory”, in Google Books Ngram Viewer.
3. ^ John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “hunky dory”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

Further reading

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• “hunky-dory adj.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present
• Michael Quinion (1996–2025), “Hunky dory”, in World Wide Words.

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