hokum
Corny theatrical drivel
Hokum is insincere or contrived material designed to manipulate emotions—sentimental scenes in movies, corny jokes, exaggerated stagecraft.
The word emerged from vaudeville and retains theatrical associations: The plot is pure hokum, but audiences love it.
By extension, hokum is any nonsense or bunk: Don't give me that hokum about working late.
Senseless talk or writing
- poppycockFoolish or meaningless talk
- malarkeyInsincere foolish talk
- twaddleTrivial, foolish talk
- claptrapInsincere, pretentious language
hogwash · tommyrot · codswallop · baloney · bosh · piffle · blather · drivel
Exaggerated physical humor
- burlesqueExaggerated mockery or risqué variety
- farceAbsurd, laughable situation
- buffooneryLudicrous or silly conduct
- clowningPlayful comic behavior
shtick · cornball · schmaltz · corn · ham · hamming · mugging · pratfall
False talk or pretense
- flimflamDeceptive scheme or nonsense
- conArgument against
- scamDishonest money-making scheme
- shamFraudulent imitation
trickery · chicanery · dupery · bamboozle · fakery · deceit · subterfuge · fraud
Fraudulent cure-all
- pseudoscienceBogus methodology posing as factual
- mountebankTraveling seller of fake remedies
- charlatanFaker claiming false expertise
- nostrumUnproven pet remedy
quacksalver · elixir · panacea · cure-all · miracle cure · patent medicine · folk remedy · wonder drug
Rhetorical extreme exaggeration
- embellishmentDecorative addition or exaggeration
- overstatementClaim beyond the facts
- pufferyOverblown self-promotion
- dramatizationConverting events to performance
inflation · stretching · tall tale · fish story · whopper · yarn · overblown · grandiosity
balderdash
Senseless talk or writing
claptrap · hogwash · tommyrot · codswallop · baloney · bosh · piffle · blather · drivel · flapdoodle
slapstick
Exaggerated physical humor
- burlesqueExaggerated mockery or risqué variety
- farceAbsurd, laughable situation
- buffooneryLudicrous or silly conduct
clowning · shtick · cornball · schmaltz · corn · ham · hamming · mugging · pratfall · gag
humbug
False talk or pretense
sham · trickery · chicanery · dupery · bamboozle · fakery · deceit · subterfuge · fraud · swindle
snake oil
Fraudulent cure-all
- pseudoscienceBogus methodology posing as factual
- mountebankTraveling seller of fake remedies
- charlatanFaker claiming false expertise
nostrum · quacksalver · elixir · panacea · cure-all · miracle cure · patent medicine · folk remedy · wonder drug
hyperbole
Rhetorical extreme exaggeration
- embellishmentDecorative addition or exaggeration
- overstatementClaim beyond the facts
- pufferyOverblown self-promotion
dramatization · inflation · stretching · tall tale · fish story · whopper · yarn · overblown · grandiosity · magnification
hokumtruth
Accordance with reality
fact · reality · honesty · authenticity · genuineness
hokumwisdom
Good judgment from experience
sense · substance · reasonableness · sensibleness · good judgment
- hokey pokeyParticipatory children's ring dance
- Hokey CokeyBritish circle dance song