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49 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, May 11, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 10, 2005 Since You Asked Roots of slang term ‘hunky-dory’ aren’t clear One of the TV talking heads said Social Security would be hunky-dory if we’d up the limit at which high-income people now stop paying in altogether. I leave that to the economists. My question is, does anyone know where the term "hunky-dory" came from? —John G., Medford Our dictionary says it’s from the obsolete Dutch hunk or goal, from the Middle Dutch honc , or hiding place. But the Since-You-Asked Etymology Division doesn’t like it one bit. How do you get from "goal" or "hiding place" to "fine, satisfactory, A-OK?" We found another theory. In 19th-century Yokohama, when American sailors on shore leave sought out the district sailors tend to seek out, they found that it was on a street named Huncho-dori. This street ran straight to the docks. So once you found Huncho-dori, everything was hunky-dory. Like it? Word gurus William and Mary Morris found another. A song popular during the American Civil War called "Josephus Orange Blossom" had the line "red-hot hunky-dory contraband." Advertisement Now, Japan was not opened to the West until 1854. So the Morrises argue that it seems unlikely that a sailor slang would catch on quickly enough to pop up in songs less than a decade later. Unlikely but not impossible. We rather like it. Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to [email protected] . We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Paris Hilton Online Poker Auto Insurance Mesothelioma Slippers Student Loans Tatoo tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoos Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Payday Loans Advertisement s