Does anyone know anything about the origin of the phrase "hunky dory"? A friend told me that he saw it in a list of quotes from immigrants at Ellis Island and he thought it might be of Danish origin.

from Atomica:

hun·ky-do·ry
adj. Slang.

Perfectly satisfactory; fine.
[Probably alteration of hunky, safe, all right, from obsolete hunk, goal, home in a game, from Dutch honk, from Frisian hunk.]


and from M-W:

Main Entry: hun.ky-do.ry
Pronunciation: "h&[ng]-kE-'dOr-E, -'dor-
Function: adjective
Etymology: obsolete English dialect hunk (home base) + -dory (origin unknown)
Date: 1866
: quite satisfactory : FINE

Here's a link with some information, though not as conclusive as might be desired:
http://pw1.netcom.com/~mrlucky/hunky.html

Another site:http://www.word-detective.com/030299.html#hunkydory

Still another site,same story:http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mhunky.html

Sooo ... David Bowie didn't make it up as a hunky-dory title for his album? Damn, another illusion shattered!

from Bartleby, The American Heritage Dictionary:

dory2

SYLLABICATION: do·ry
PRONUNCIATION: dôr, dr
NOUN: Inflected forms: pl. do·ries
1. John Dory. 2. See walleye (sense 1).
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English dorre, from Old French doree, from feminine past participle of dorer, to gild, from Late Latin deaurre : Latin d-, de- + Latin aurum, gold.

That would seem to make sense...adding to satisfactory (hunky), gilded (dory).

>from Late Latin deaurre : Latin d-, de- + Latin aurum, gold.<

How did you miss this one, Faldage? Nits must be in season...

Aww, gosh. Normally people just call me by my first name. Seem to forget that my last name's Dory.

W'ON: How did you miss this one, Faldage? Nits must be in season...

ROTFLMAO!

Thanks. That makes sense especially in the Ellis Island context safe at home.

That was my second guess!

Welcome aBoard, buccojoe; nice to have you. :-) May I offer a suggestion? Early on, we found out that, when there were already several posts in a thread, if a new post just included a response only, it was often difficult to tell which previous one it was referring to. So we got into the habit of either quoting part of what we were responding to, or perhaps using the other person's name; something, anyway, to indicate specifically. I'm not fussing, please understand--I'm just wondering what your second guess was!

WO'N, thank you for including dory! Even I know that dorado means gold--that is so cool! How did the little boat come to be called a dory?

How did you miss this one, Faldage? Nits must be in season...

ROTFLMAO!

Parm my beg to differmints, but

Huh?

Where's the nit?

Where's the nit?

Oh, no!...no nits here! Just that you must be so busy out picking nits, them being in season 'n' all, that you missed this delectable Latin citation..."the lure of the nit" is the onliest thing I can think of that could've distracted you from that! Sheesh! Do I have to start 'splainin' all my punchlines like Leno?

you missed this delectable Latin citation

And where'd you get the idea that I'd be bothering to look for a Latin citation?

And where'd you get the idea that I'd be bothering to look for a Latin citation?

Well, being the Latin Scholar you are, I figured you'd have it at your fingertips! Why would you have to look?

Are we all hunky-dory, now?

Latin Scholar

Well, I suppose if it had been spelled hunky de aurey

Hmmm. Non modo sed etiam!

Sooo ... David Bowie didn't make it up as a hunky-dory title for his album?

My first association too, Cap

But "hunky dory" seems to have been around for ages. I think of it as slightly better than OK or alright. More jolly, equivalent to spot on or tip-top if we're going for (more archaic) Britlish equivalents - or just very well indeed more generally.

For some reason I've got in the habit of using the term quite a lot over the last 10 or so years. Quite often kick off or end emails with "Hope all is hunky dory". Interestingly I haven't used the term much if at all with non-Brits, assuming it wouldn't be understood. Highly ironic if it actually originated in the US.

As for the meaning, I'd assumed :
hunky = very much, great big portions of [related to "hunks of meat" and so on] but also with a touch of (as the dictionaries seem to have it) settled, comfortable [as in "hunkering down" perhaps]
and
dory = (as WO'N) golden [related to the names Dorien and Doreen and the French d'or].

FWIW

And, then, a Hunky dory could be a small Hungarian boat.


Welcome back, Shona!

a Hunky dory could be a small Hungarian boat

..in which the galley slaves get whipped by a goulash, Juan?

..in which the galley slaves get whipped by a goulash, Juan?

Twenty goulashes for you!