mumbo jumbo

• POS: Noun Phrase
• HYPHEN: mum=bo jum=bo

CIDE DICTIONARY

mumbo jumbo, n. [Perh. fr. the native name of an African god.].

•  Among the Mandingos of the western Sudan, a bugbear by means of which the women are terrified and disciplined by societies of the men, one of whom assumes a masquerade for the purpose; hence, loosely, any Negro idol, fetish, or bugaboo.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

  "The miserable Mumbo Jumbo they paraded."  [1913 Webster]
•  An object of superstitious homage and fear.  Carlyle.  [1913 Webster]
•  Incomprehensible or senseless language, usually intended to avoid answering plainly, confuse a listener, or obscure an issue.  [PJC]
•  Language so arcane or obscure as to be unintelligible to the listener.  [PJC]

THESAURUS

mumbo jumbo

Mumbo Jumbo, abracadabra, absurdity, amorphousness, amphigory, amulet, anagoge, anagogics, anthroposophy, argot, babble, babblement, balderdash, bibble-babble, blabber, blather, bogey, bogeyman, boggart, bogle, bombast, booger, boogerman, boogeyman, bug, bugaboo, bugbear, bugger, cabala, cabalism, cant, charm, claptrap, conjuration, dark, darkness, double-talk, drivel, drool, escamotage, esotericism, esoterics, esoterism, esotery, fee-faw-fum, fetish, fiddle-faddle, fiddledeedee, flummery, fog, fogginess, folderol, fudge, fustian, fuzziness, fylfot, gabble, galimatias, gammadion, gammon, gibber, gibberish, gibble-gabble, gobbledygook, good-luck charm, hanky-panky, hocus-pocus, hokey-pokey, hoodoo, humbug, incantation, indeterminateness, indistinctness, jabber, jargon, jiggery-pokery, jugglery, juggling, juju, legerdemain, lingo, love charm, lucky bean, lucky piece, madstone, magic formula, magic words, mascot, mist, mistiness, monkey business, mummery, murk, murkiness, mystery, mysticism, mystification, narrishkeit, niaiserie, nonsense, obeah, obfuscation, obscurantism, obscuration, obscurity, occultism, opacity, open sesame, pack of nonsense, palaver, patois, patter, periapt, perplexity, philter, phraseology, phylactery, prate, prattle, prestidigitation, rant, rigamarole, rigmarole, rodomontade, rubbish, scarab, scarabaeus, scarabee, scatology, shapelessness, skimble-skamble, slang, sleight of hand, stuff and nonsense, stultiloquence, sudarium, swastika, symbolics, symbolism, taboo language, talisman, trash, trickery, trumpery, twaddle, twattle, twiddle-twaddle, unclarity, unclearness, unplainness, vagueness, vaporing, vernacular, veronica, vocabulary, voodoo, vulgar language, waffling, whammy, yoga, yogeeism, yogism

ROGET THESAURUS

mumbo jumbo

Jupiter

N Jupiter, god, goddess, heathen gods and goddesses, deva, Jupiter, Jove, pantheon, Allah, Bathala, Brahm, Brahma, Brahma, cloud-compeller, Devi, Durga, Kali, oread, the Great Spirit, Ushas, water nymph, wood nymph, Yama, Varuna, Zeus, Vishnu, Siva, Shiva, Krishna, Juggernath, Buddha, Isis, Osiris, Ra, Belus, Bel, Baal, Asteroth, Thor, Odin, Mumbo Jumbo, good genius, tutelary genius, demiurge, familiar, sibyl, fairy, fay, sylph, sylphid, Ariel, peri, nymph, nereid, dryad, seamaid, banshee, benshie, Ormuzd, Oberon, Mab, hamadryad, naiad, mermaid, kelpie, Ondine, nixie, sprite, denizens of the air, pixy, mythology, heathen-mythology, fairy-mythology, Lempriere, folklore, god-like, fairy-like, sylph-like, sylphic, you moonshine revelers and shades of night.

Spell

N spell, charm, incantation, exorcism, weird, cabala, exsufflation, cantrap, runes, abracadabra, open sesame, countercharm, Ephesian letters, bell book and candle, Mumbo Jumbo, evil eye, fee-faw- fum, talisman, amulet, periapt, telesm, phylactery, philter, fetich, fetish, agnus Dei, lamb of God, furcula, madstone, mascot, mascotte, merrythought, Om, Aum, scarab, scarabaeus, sudarium, triskelion, veronica, wishbone, swastika, fylfot, gammadion, wand, caduceus, rod, divining rod, lamp of Aladdin, wishing-cap, Fortunatus's cap.