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flummox

[fluhm-uh ks]
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verb (used with object) Informal.
  1. to bewilder; confound; confuse.
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Origin of flummox

First recorded in 1830–40; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for flummox

flummox

verb
  1. (tr) to perplex or bewilder
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Word Origin

C19: of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for flummox

v.

1837, cant word, origin uncertain, probably from some forgotten British dialect. Candidates cluster in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, southern Cheshire and also in Sheffield. "The formation seems to be onomatopœic, expressive of the notion of throwing down roughly and untidily." Never let it be said that the OED editors lacked imagination. Related: Flummoxed.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper