What is an “Oily Variety Bohunk”?

A friend of mine posted the term Bohunk on her Facebook (thanks Lori) and someone had commented that they did not know what the word meant. Now, although I was familiar with it from Sixteen Candles and Adventures in Babysitting, I never actually bothered to find out what the term meant.

The term, is derogatory slang used to describe Eastern European Immigrants and is most probably derived from combining BOhemia and HUNgary then adding a K (that’s some lazy combining).

I had always assumed this was some made up term for the movies, but according to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, this word has been around for quite some time and is very insulting to some people.

An immigrant from Central Europe, Eastern Europe, or the Balkans, especially one who is regarded as vain, aggressively masculine, and socially unsophisticated.

Canadian Oxford Dictionary

So before you start throwing the term around, remember it’s a slur and insulting to people. So don’t do it.

So why the Oily? Insult to injury. Who knew. Besides my boy Jake?