hodgepodge
[hoj-poj]
- a heterogeneous mixture; jumble.
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Origin of hodgepodge
First recorded in 1615–25; variant of hotchpotch
Synonyms
See more synonyms for hodgepodge on Thesaurus.comconglomeration, miscellany, muddle, mess.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for hodgepodge
Contemporary Examples
And the valley hosts a hodgepodge of homegrown Syrian-American groups—some with close ties to the government in Damascus.
There has been radicalization on the left, as well: Pasok has jettisoned voters to a hodgepodge of communist parties.
He picked up the story from the “dayslot,” a hodgepodge of random topics disseminated by an editor.
The New Deal, of course, was a hodgepodge of programs and as such, some of them failed and were damaging to the economy.
Historical Examples
The Church was a hodgepodge of conflicting doctrines and ceremonial.
Cornish CharactersS. Baring-Gould
"Look at this, madam, look at this hodgepodge," moaned the women.
Six Women and the InvasionGabrielle Yerta
It was filled with a hodgepodge of papers, books, old clothes and bundles of linen.
L'AssommoirEmile Zola
When fully operational, it will replace a hodgepodge of disaster programs that suffered from numerous shortcomings.
Superstition is the interpretation of their religion, their political views are a hodgepodge of unconnected ideas.
Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United StatesWork Projects Administration
hodgepodge
- a jumbled mixture
- a thick soup or stew made from meat and vegetables
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Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): hotchpotch
Word Origin
C15: variant of hotchpot
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 hodgepodge
n.
also hodge podge, hodge-podge, early 15c., hogpoch, alteration of hotchpotch (late 14c.) "a kind of stew," especially "one made with goose, herbs, spices, wine, and other ingredients," earlier an Anglo-French legal term (late 13c.) meaning "collection of property in a common 'pot' before dividing it equally," from Old French hochepot "stew, soup," first element from hocher "to shake," from a Germanic source (cf. Middle High German hotzen "shake").
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper