hugger-mugger

[ huhg-er-muhg-er ]

/ ˈhʌg ərˌmʌg ər /

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See synonyms for hugger-mugger on Thesaurus.com

noun

disorder or confusion; muddle.

secrecy; reticence: Why is there such hugger-mugger about the scheme?

adjective

secret or clandestine.

disorderly or confused.

verb (used with object)

to keep secret or concealed; hush up.

verb (used without object)

to act secretly.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of hugger-mugger

First recorded in 1520–30; earlier hucker-mucker, rhyming compound based on mucker, from Middle English mokeren “to hoard”

Words nearby hugger-mugger

huge, Hügel, hugely, hugeous, huggable, hugger-mugger, hugger-muggery, Huggins, huggy, Hugh, Hugh Capet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hugger-mugger in a sentence

But they were taking no steps for this purpose; they were content with social hugger-mugger.
The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Joshua|William Garden Blaikie
Mr Bethany tossed the hugger-mugger of pamphlets across the table.
The Return|Walter de la Mare
Still, everything drifts on to these hugger-mugger large enterprises; Chicago spreads over the world.
The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
They can't do it,—by Act of Parliament,—except in a hugger-mugger left-handed way, that wouldn't suit you at all.
The Duke's Children|Anthony Trollope

All that set you were brought up in—why, one only had to look at them to see what a hugger-mugger way they probably lived.
Vera|Elisabeth von Arnim

British Dictionary definitions for hugger-mugger

hugger-mugger

/ (ˈhʌɡəˌmʌɡə) /

noun

confusion

rare secrecy

adjective, adverb archaic

with secrecy

in confusion

verb obsolete

(tr) to keep secret

(intr) to act secretly

Word Origin for hugger-mugger

C16: of uncertain 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

hugger-mugger

Origin of hugger-mugger

Words nearby hugger-mugger

Words related to hugger-mugger

How to use hugger-mugger in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hugger-mugger

Word Origin for hugger-mugger