Why On King of the Hill does Joe Jack call Hank Hill Honey?

Answer 1

I wondered that too. But I've heard him say it a few more times to other characters (like Bobby), so I think it must just be some kind of texan dialect sort of thing. Like the way Nancy calls everyone Sug(ar).

It isn't a Texan dialect thing, it's a Joe Jack thing. He calls everyone "honey." It seems to be there simply to make the character unique and funny (a burly, deep-voiced man calling people of all ages and sexes an endearment). It's incongruous and therefore funny. My assumption was that one of the writers knew someone who did that, but I have no solid evidence that it's true.

It's also odd that Hank doesn't react to Joe Jack using those terms of endearment with him, considering how unemotional Hank is. Quite frankly, it's creepy as heck.

Found this on wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_characters_in_King_of_the_Hill)

>>Joe Jack (voiced by Toby Huss) - Joe Jack is a fuel-truck driver and co-worker with Hank at Strickland Propane. He has a drinking problem, as seen when he is a member of the Propaniacs, and it has also been stated that he has a gambling problem as well. He has a habit of calling people "honey", regardless of gender. His voice and "honey" tagline is modeled after a backstage character from the Jack Benny Radio Program, who had a similar sound to his voice and also called everyone "honey" regardless of gender, something Jack Benny had to explain to guests, including in the April 28, 1948 episode "Charlie's Aunt." (citation and name of Benny character needed).

So the above was mostly right, this is just making it go a little deeper. My pals in Texas say that this show is like Seinfeld to us in New York. Makes more sense why I don't get their jokes