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bunkum

English translation: placebo (these are not the same, but in the context of a provocative title, placebo worked well as an alliterative alternative)

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:bunkum
Selected answer:placebo (these are not the same, but in the context of a provocative title, placebo worked well as an alliterative alternative)
Entered by: Pippin Michelli

21:21 Jan 15, 2006
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Linguistics / synonyms
English term or phrase: bunkum
What other synonyms could be used for bunkum in a phrase:

'A Code of Conduct: a panacea or bunkum?'

I came across synonyms like hogwash, rubbish, claptrap. What would you use in this space?

Please, note this is not a text for translation, only a piece of work I am writing, where I would like to use this phrase.
lafresita (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:54
placebo
Explanation:
Your text looks like a potential title, so I wonder if an alliterative alternative to bunkum would work. If a panacea is a cure-all, a placebo is a cure-nothing that sometimes actually does work through the power of suggestion.
Selected response from:

Pippin Michelli
Local time: 19:54
Grading comment
Placebo fits in the context perfectly. Thanks to ALL very much!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +7balderdash, baloney,, bilge, garbage, horsefeathers, nonsense, tommyrot, nonsense.
Mark Nathan
4 +5snake oil (in: panacea or snake oil?)
Nick Lingris
5 +1doubletalk, doublespeak, folderol, jive, jargon, palaver, mumbo jumbo
Elizabeth Lyons
3placebo
Pippin Michelli
3 -1pain in the neck
Balasubramaniam L.


Discussion entries: 9





  

Answers


7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
doubletalk, doublespeak, folderol, jive, jargon, palaver, mumbo jumbo


Explanation:
These are often used in a "political" context. hth.

Elizabeth Lyons
United States
Local time: 17:54
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Will Matter: One way to put it. ;0)
2 days 1 hr
  -> Thanks for the vote, willm : )
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
placebo


Explanation:
Your text looks like a potential title, so I wonder if an alliterative alternative to bunkum would work. If a panacea is a cure-all, a placebo is a cure-nothing that sometimes actually does work through the power of suggestion.

Pippin Michelli
Local time: 19:54
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Placebo fits in the context perfectly. Thanks to ALL very much!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
snake oil (in: panacea or snake oil?)


Explanation:
http://www.google.com/search?q="panacea or snake oil&num=100...

snake oil
1. A worthless preparation fraudulently peddled as a cure for many ills.
2. Speech or writing intended to deceive; humbug.

snake oil
A product that has been proven to not live up to the vendor's marketing hype. The term comes from the 1800s in which elixirs and potions of all kinds, even ones that supposedly included the oils from snakes, were sold as a cure for everything that ailed a person.

More here: http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?s=snake oil&gwp=11&ver=1...

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Note added at 3 hrs 11 mins (2006-01-16 00:32:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Here is a more convincing Google search (25,800 hits):
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&rls=...

Nick Lingris
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:54
Native speaker of: Native in GreekGreek
PRO pts in category: 52

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Trudy Peters: I like that!
3 hrs
  -> Thanks, Trudy.
agree  Richard Benham
4 hrs
  -> Thanks, Richard.
agree  Tony M: Well, I'd never have known that myself, but it sounds ideal!
21 hrs
  -> Thanks, Dusty!
agree  Vicky Papaprodromou: After grading but...
1 day 15 hrs
  -> Thanks, V.
agree  Will Matter
2 days 27 mins
  -> Thank you, Will.
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): -1
pain in the neck


Explanation:
Panacea or a pain in the neck


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Note added at 6 hrs 56 mins (2006-01-16 04:17:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The above does not exactly mean bunkum, but in a title it will look good alongside panacea, especially when we are talking about code of conduct, which can be a pain in the neck sometimes!

Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 06:24
Native speaker of: Native in HindiHindi
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Tony M: Sorry, but I think this is getting too far away from the real, intended meaning...
17 hrs
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3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +7
balderdash, baloney,, bilge, garbage, horsefeathers, nonsense, tommyrot, nonsense.


Explanation:
*

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Note added at 10 mins (2006-01-15 21:31:04 GMT)
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Sorry, just one nonsense. Humbug is a good one.
Bunkum is a bit old-fashioned - do you want to keep that? Depends on what register you are writing in - formal, humorous, journalistic etc

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Note added at 11 hrs 57 mins (2006-01-16 09:18:10 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Nonsense is probably the most "neutral" choice.

Bunkum does have political overtones being from Buncombe, a county in North Carolina, whose member is said to have gone on talking in Congress, explaining apologetically that he was "only talking for Buncombe" (Chambers).

Mark Nathan
France
Local time: 02:54
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 40

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Kim Metzger: humbug, bunk, hooey, hokum, baloney
2 mins
agree  Angie Garbarino
4 mins
agree  zaphod
5 hrs
agree  Jack Doughty
11 hrs
agree  Peter Shortall
18 hrs
agree  Alfa Trans (X)
1 day 12 mins
agree  Will Matter
2 days 1 hr
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