bunk [M19th] A shortening of bunkum, which also means ‘nonsense’ but is now rather dated. Originally also spelled buncombe, it refers to Buncombe County in North Carolina, USA. Around 1820 the congressman representing the county mentioned it in an inconsequential speech, just to please his constituents. Buncombe immediately became a byword for tedious nonsense. Bunk [M18th] meaning ‘a kind of bed’ and bunk [M19th] as in bunk off are different words, both of unknown origin. See also history.