honky-tonk

Meaning

Noun

• A bar or nightclub that caters to Southern patrons and provides country music for entertainment.
• Any cheap nightclub.
• The type of music typically played in such a club.
• A style of country music emphasizing traditional country instruments (e.g., guitar, steel guitar and fiddle); a rough, nasal vocal style; and tragic themes such as heartbreak, infidelity and alcoholism often associated with patrons of honky-tonks.

Origin

• From honk-a-tonk, possibly imitative.