We’re watching Christmas In Connecticut (1945), and S.Z. Sakall’s character says, ‘Hunky Dunky.’ Or is it ‘Honky donkey’? On one hand, there’s a ‘Little Rascals’ short called Honky Donkey (1934). ‘Honky’ rhymes with ‘donkey’, so it makes sense. OTOH, ‘hunky dory’ starts with ‘hunky’; so ‘hunky dunky’ makes sense.
So which is it?
I don’t think it matters. The guy isn’t proficient in English, the real phrase is “hunky dory”, and the point was that he was trying to do colloquial English but didn’t remember the phrase.
I always heard it as “hunky dory.” Never heard it any other way.
That was the joke:
I can’t even tell if he’s saying ‘hunky dunky’ or ‘hunky dory’. Which was more prevalent in 1945?
A gag worth recycling…
And there was a song called “Hunky Dunky Dory” in the 1941 film, Ridin’ on a Rainbow
So it seems variations of hunky dory and hunky dunky is quite common at the time.
The second part has no meaning, its just a rhyme with hunky .
Similar to “Okay dokey” its just a rhyme of the first word for emphasis, to make the sentence longer and finalised.
Does the first part have a standalone meaning? It seems the phrase comes as a whole, unlike okey dokey. Or is there a relevant meaning of “hunky” I’m unfamiliar with?
Yes. The question is whether the ‘not good at American slang’ phrase is ‘honky donkey’, or ‘hunky dunky’. As noted in the OP, I’ve heard both; with the former being used as the title of a 1934 ‘Little Rascals’ short.
From here:
This American-coined adjective has been around since the 1860s, from the now-obsolete hunkey , “all right,” which stems from the New York slang hunk , “in a safe position,” and the Dutch root honk or “home.” The origin of dory is unknown.