What Does "Hunky Dory" Mean, and How Do You Use this Idiom? • 7ESL

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Have you ever heard someone use the term ‘hunky dory’ in a conversation and wondered what it meant? We are going to take a look at the meaning of this phrase and where it first originated from. We will also look at how the term can be used in our day to day conversations.

Hunky Dory

Hunky Dory Meaning

When someone says the term ‘hunky dory’ they are saying that everything is good. It is a term that describes a situation as being happy, comfortable, and in check.

Origin of this idiom

It is not certain where the term ‘hunky dory’ actually came from but there are some clues in the words themselves as to where they might have derived from. The word ‘hunky’ is believed to have come from an old American slang word for safe, which was simply ‘hunk.’ The word ‘dory’ is thought to have no meaning and is what is known as a ‘nonsense’ phrase.

Examples of “Hunky Dory”

Examples in Statements

This is a statement made by a mother regarding her son.

‘He had a fall yesterday but he is absolutely hunky dory today.’

Here is a statement made by a teacher.

‘So if you follow my instructions exactly, everything will be hunky dory.’

Other examples:

Of course not. Everything here is hunky-dory. Don’t worry.
His girlfriend is hunky-dory, getting on nicely with almost everyone.
Nothing changes for you with the exception of feeling hunky-dory all the time.

Conversation Examples

If you are curious to see how the term ‘hunky dory’ works in a conversation, here are some examples to show what you might hear.

This first conversation is between a husband and wife.

Person 1: “I can’t believe you think you can speak to me that way.”
Person 2: “I said I was sorry.”
Person 1: “You can’t just apologise and then think that everything is hunky dory.”

This conversation is between two friends.

Person 1: “Did you have a good time with Sarah yesterday?”
Person 2: “Yes, it was good to finally see here happy.”
Person 1: “So is she finally over her ex boyfriend?”
Person 2: “Yes, everything seems to be hunky dory.”

Other Ways to Say the Phrase

There are many other ways in which you can express the term ‘hunky dory.’ Here are some examples of other things you can say that would have the same meaning.

All good
Super duper
Fine
Great
Okay
OK
Well

Liam Daniel

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