Honyock was originally an ethnic slur that referred to immigrants to the United States and Canada who came from Central and Eastern Europe. It was later expanded to mean a rube or simpleton, its most common usage. Honyock first appeared in print in the late 19th century. It fell into disuse during the 1960s and 1970s. This term was often applied to people who were unwelcome among their family, friends and/or community.\n\nThe most common theory of the origin of this word is the merger of the first syllable of the word "Hungarian" and the last syllable of the ethnic slur "Polack." However, a more likely origin is the Hungarian adjective hanyag, which has a variety of negative meanings including careless, derelict, indifferent, irresponsible, lax, negligent, oblivious, slipshod, sloppy, slothful, and slow.\n\nIn parts of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Alberta and Saskatchewan, a honyock is a hardscrabble farm. The farmer who works such a farm is a honyocker.\nRetrieved from "http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/transwiki:Honyock"