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humbug definition

hum·bug (hum′bug′)

noun

    1. something made or done to cheat or deceive; fraud; sham; hoax
    2. misleading, dishonest, or empty talk; nonsense
  2. a person who is not what he claims to be; impostor
  3. a spirit of trickery, deception, etc.
  4. Brit. a striped hard candy

Etymology: 18th-c. slang: orig. reference uncert.

transitive verb humbugged -·bugged′, humbugging -·bug′·ging

to dupe; deceive

interjection

nonsense

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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