hocus-pocus

[ hoh-kuhs-poh-kuhs ]

/ ˈhoʊ kəsˈpoʊ kəs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hocus-pocus ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a meaningless chant or expression used in conjuring or incantation.

a juggler's trick; sleight of hand.

trickery; deception.

unnecessarily mysterious or elaborate activity or talk to cover up a deception, magnify a simple purpose, etc.

verb (used with object), ho·cus-po·cused, ho·cus-po·cus·ing or (especially British) ho·cus-po·cussed, ho·cus-po·cus·sing.

to play tricks on or with.

verb (used without object), ho·cus-po·cused, ho·cus-po·cus·ing or (especially British) ho·cus-po·cussed, ho·cus-po·cus·sing.

to perform tricks; practice trickery or deception.

Nearby words

hockle, hockney, hockshop, hocktide, hocus, hocus-pocus, hod, hod carrier, hodden, hodeida, hodge

Origin of hocus-pocus

First recorded in 1615–25; pseudo-Latin rhyming formula used by jugglers and magicians

SYNONYMS FOR hocus-pocus

3 deceit, dishonesty, hanky-panky, double-dealing.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hocus-pocus ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hocus-pocus

"There's some hocus-pocus about this," whispered Trask, as he and Locke moved forward for a private talk.
Isle o' Dreams|Frederick F. Moore
Can't you pull the cork out of your magnetism with your teeth and hocus-pocus them handcuffs off?'
The Gentle Grafter|O. Henry
With hocus-pocus like that no dog is lured from the stove in the real world.
Erdgeist (Earth-Spirit)|Frank Wedekind
I defy any man to look between the lines and scent my hocus-pocus game.
The Long Chance|Peter B. Kyne

If anything, she's deadly logical; when her mind puzzles us it's never by hocus-pocus, but simply by swiftness in operation.
Brother Copas|Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

British Dictionary definitions for hocus-pocus

hocus-pocus

/ (ˈhəʊkəsˈpəʊkəs) /

noun

trickery or chicanery

mystifying jargon

an incantation used by conjurors or magicians when performing tricks

conjuring skill or practice

verb -cuses, -cusing, -cused, -cuses, -cussing or -cussed

to deceive or trick (someone)

Word Origin for hocus-pocus

C17: perhaps a dog-Latin formation invented by jugglers

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