humbug
[huhm-buhg]
- something intended to delude or deceive.
- the quality of falseness or deception.
- a person who is not what he or she claims or pretends to be; impostor.
- something devoid of sense or meaning; nonsense: a humbug of technical jargon.
- British. a variety of hard mint candy.
Show More
- to impose upon by humbug or false pretense; delude; deceive.
Show More
- to practice humbug.
Show More
- (used as an expletive to express rejection of something as being completely untrue or nonsensical.)
Show More
Origin of humbug
First recorded in 1730–40; origin uncertain
Synonyms
See more synonyms for humbug on Thesaurus.com1. imposition. 2. pretense, sham. 3. pretender, deceiver, charlatan, swindler, quack, confidence man. 6. cheat, swindle, trick, fool, dupe.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for humbug
Contemporary Examples
No one outside Limbaughland or Trumpville, Potemkin villages where no one will vote for Obama anyway, credited the humbug.
Robert Shrum on the Vice Presidential Debate: Biden’s Win Was a Big F@$&ing DealRobert Shrum
October 12, 2012
Historical Examples
Mrs M. is a humbug—not a drop of information can I get for love or money.
The family is in that, as in so many other respects, a humbug.
A Treatise on Parents and ChildrenGeorge Bernard Shaw
You'll find out what a humbug he is by and by, Mrs. Bartlett.
In the Midst of AlarmsRobert Barr
You know that is not a humbug; you know He has heard you when you knelt down and prayed.
We must have humbug, we all like humbug, we couldn't get on without humbug.
Little DorritCharles Dickens
humbug
- a person or thing that tricks or deceives
- nonsense; rubbish
- British a hard boiled sweet, usually flavoured with peppermint and often having a striped pattern
Show More
- to cheat or deceive (someone)
Show More
Word Origin
C18: 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 humbug
n.
1751, student slang, "trick, jest, hoax, deception," also as a verb, of unknown origin. A vogue word of the early 1750s; its origin was a subject of much whimsical speculation even then.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper