bologna
bologna Lexical Profile
bologna Game Scores & Validity
• noun
North American A large, mild, commercially prepared cooked sausage made of finely minced meat, typically beef, pork, or a mixture of both.
"She packed a simple lunch consisting of an apple and a bologna sandwich on white bread."
American Foolish, deceptive, or pretentious talk and nonsense.
"Don't give me that bologna about the dog eating your homework."
A historic city in northern Italy, serving as the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region and known for its ancient university and rich culinary tradition.
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to the sausage or nonsense, 'bologna' is famously pronounced to rhyme with 'pony' (/bəˈloʊni/), leading to the alternate slang spelling 'baloney'. When referring to the Italian city, it retains a pronunciation closer to its Italian origin (/bəˈloʊnjə/).
• Rhymes for bologna
Word Origin & Etymology
Named after Bologna, a city in northern Italy, which is famous for its mortadella sausage. The Americanized meat took on the city's name in the late 19th century, and its usage to mean 'nonsense' evolved in American slang during the 1920s.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.