humbug

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: hum=bug

CIDE DICTIONARY

humbug, n. [Prob. fr. hum to impose on, deceive + bug a frightful object.].

•  An imposition under fair pretenses; something contrived in order to deceive and mislead; a trick by cajolery; a hoax.  [1913 Webster]
•  A spirit of deception; cajolery; trickishness.  [1913 Webster]
•  One who deceives or misleads; a deceitful or trickish fellow; an impostor.  Sir J. Stephen.  [1913 Webster]

humbug, v. t. 

 To deceive; to impose; to cajole; to hoax.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

humbug, n. & v.
--n.
1 deceptive or false talk or behaviour.
2 an impostor.
3 Brit. a hard boiled sweet usu. flavoured with peppermint.
--v. (humbugged, humbugging)
1 intr. be or behave like an impostor.
2 tr. deceive, hoax.

Derivative

humbuggery n.

Etymology

18th c.: orig. unkn.

THESAURUS

humbug

absurdity, acting, affectation, amphigory, appearance, attitudinizing, babble, babblement, balderdash, balls, baloney, bamboozle, beguile, betray, bibble-babble, blabber, blague, blagueur, blather, blatherskite, bluff, bluffer, bluffing, bombast, bosh, bull, bullshit, bunk, bunkum, cajole, charlatan, charlatanism, charlatanry, cheat on, cheating, circumvent, claptrap, color, coloring, conjure, crap, deceive, deception, delude, delusion, diddle, disguise, dissemblance, dissembling, dissimulation, double-cross, double-talk, drivel, drool, dupe, eyewash, facade, face, fake, fakement, faker, fakery, faking, false air, false front, false show, falsity, feigning, feint, fiddle-faddle, fiddledeedee, flam, flapdoodle, flimflam, flummery, folderol, forestall, four-flushing, fourflusher, fraud, front, fudge, fustian, gabble, galimatias, gammon, get around, gibber, gibberish, gibble-gabble, gilt, gloss, gobbledygook, gull, gyp, hoax, hocus-pocus, hogwash, hoke, hokum, hooey, hornswaggle, humbuggery, impersonator, impostor, imposture, jabber, jargon, jiggery-pokery, juggle, let down, malarkey, malingerer, masquerade, meretriciousness, mislead, mock, moonshine, mountebank, mumbo jumbo, narrishkeit, niaiserie, nonsense, ostentation, outmaneuver, outreach, outsmart, outward show, outwit, overreach, pack of nonsense, palaver, phony, piffle, pigeon, play one false, playacting, pose, poser, poseur, posing, posture, prate, prattle, pretender, pretense, pretension, pretext, put something over, quack, quackery, quackishness, quackism, quacksalver, quackster, rant, representation, rigamarole, rigmarole, ringer, rip-off, rodomontade, rot, rubbish, saltimbanco, seeming, sell, semblance, sham, shammer, show, simulacrum, simulation, skimble-skamble, snow, speciousness, spoof, string along, stuff and nonsense, stultiloquence, take in, trash, trick, trumpery, twaddle, twattle, twiddle-twaddle, two-time, vaporing, varnish, waffling, window dressing

ROGET THESAURUS

humbug

Unmeaningness

N meaninglessness, unmeaningness, scrabble, empty sound, dead letter, vox et praeterea nihil, a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing, sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal, nonsense, utter nonsense, gibberish, jargon, jabber, mere words, hocus-pocus, fustian, rant, bombast, balderdash, palaver, flummery, verbiage, babble, baverdage, baragouin, platitude, niaiserie, inanity, flap-doodle, rigmarole, rodomontade, truism, nugae canorae, twaddle, twattle, fudge, trash, garbage, humbug, poppy-cock, stuff, stuff and nonsense, bosh, rubbish, moonshine, wish-wash, fiddle- faddle, absurdity, vagueness, boilerplate, clich_¬, unmeaning, meaningless, senseless, nonsensical, void of sense, inexpressive, unexpressive, vacant, not significant, insignificant, trashy, washy, trumpery, trivial, fiddle-faddle, twaddling, quibbling, unmeant, not expressed, tacit, inexpressible, undefinable, incommunicable.

Falsehood

N falsehood, falseness, falsity, falsification, deception, untruth, guile, lying, untruth, guile, lying, misrepresentation, mendacity, perjury, false swearing, forgery, invention, fabrication, subreption, covin, perversion of truth, suppression of truth, suppressio veri, perversion, distortion, false coloring, exaggeration, prevarication, equivocation, shuffling, fencing, evasion, fraud, suggestio falsi, mystification, simulation, dissimulation, dissembling, deceit, blague, sham, pretense, pretending, malingering, lip homage, lip service, mouth honor, hollowness, mere show, mere outside, duplicity, double dealing, insincerity, hypocrisy, cant, humbug, jesuitism, jesuitry, pharisaism, Machiavelism, organized hypocrisy, crocodile tears, mealy-mouthedness, quackery, charlatanism, charlatanry, gammon, bun-kum, bumcombe, flam, bam, flimflam, cajolery, flattery, Judas kiss, perfidy, il volto sciolto i pensieri stretti, unfairness, artfulness, misstatement, false, deceitful, mendacious, unveracious, fraudulent, dishonest, faithless, truthless, trothless, unfair, uncandid, hollow-hearted, evasive, uningenuous, disingenuous, hollow, sincere, Parthis mendacior, forsworn, artificial, contrived, canting, hypocritical, jesuitical, pharisaical, tartuffish, Machiavelian, double, double tongued, double faced, double handed, double minded, double hearted, double dealing, Janus faced, smooth-faced, smooth spoken, smooth tongued, plausible, mealy-mouthed, affected, collusive, collusory, artful, perfidious, spurious, untrue, falsified, covinous, falsely, a la tartufe, with a double tongue, silly, blandae mendacia lingua, falsus in uno falsus in omnibus, I give him joy that's awkward at a lie, la mentira tiene las piernas cortas, O what a goodly outside falsehood hath.

Deception

VB deceive, take in, defraud, cheat, jockey, do, cozen, diddle, nab, chouse, play one false, bilk, cully, jilt, bite, pluck, swindle, victimize, abuse, mystify, blind one's eyes, blindfold, hoodwink, throw dust into the eyes, dupe, gull, hoax, fool, befool, bamboozle, flimflam, hornswoggle, trick, impose upon, practice upon, play upon, put upon, palm off on, palm upon, foist upon, snatch a verdict, bluff off, bluff, bunko, four flush, gum, spoof, stuff (a ballot box), circumvent, overreach, outreach, out wit, out maneuver, steal a march upon, give the go-by, to leave in the lurch decoy, waylay, lure, beguile, delude, inveigle, entrap, intrap, ensnare, nick, springe, set a trap, lay a trap, lay a snare for, bait the hook, forelay, spread the toils, lime, trapan, trepan, kidnap, let in, hook in, nousle, nousel, blind a trail, enmesh, immesh, shanghai, catch, catch in a trap, sniggle, entangle, illaqueate, hocus, escamoter, practice on one's credulity, hum, humbug, gammon, stuff up, sell, play a trick upon one, play a practical joke upon one, put something over on one, put one over on, balk, trip up, throw a tub to a whale, fool to the top of one's bent, send on a fool's errand, make game, make a fool of, make an April fool of, make an ass of, trifle with, cajole, flatter, come over, gild the pill, make things pleasant, divert, put a good face upon, dissemble, cog, cog the dice, load the dice, stack the deck, live by one's wits, play at hide and seek, obtain money under false pretenses, conjure, juggle, practice chicanery, deacon, play off, palm off, foist off, fob-off, lie, misinform, mislead, betray, be deceived.

Deceiver

N deceiver &c (deceive), dissembler, hypocrite, sophist, Pharisee, Jesuit, Mawworm, Pecksniff, Joseph Surface, Tartufe, Janus, serpent, snake in the grass, cockatrice, Judas, wolf in sheep's clothing, jilt, shuffler, stool pigeon, liar &c (lie), story-teller, perjurer, false witness, menteur a triple etage, Scapin, bunko steerer, carpetbagger, capper, faker, fraud, four flusher, horse coper, ringer, spieler, straw bidder, imposter, pretender, soi-disant, humbug, adventurer, Cagliostro, Fernam Mendez Pinto, ass in lion's skin, actor, quack, charlatan, mountebank, saltimbanco, saltimbanque, empiric, quacksalver, medicaster, Rosicrucian, gypsy, man of straw, conjuror, juggler, trickster, prestidigitator, jockey, crimp, decoy, decoy duck, rogue, knave, cheat, swindler, jobber, saint abroad and a devil at home.