Definition

1. Noun:

   • Deceptive trickery: Something intended to deceive or trick someone, often for personal gain.
   • Deceptive communication: Spoken or written statements that are deliberately misleading or false.
   • Nonsensical or pretentious talk: Silly, empty, or pompous language that lacks substance or truth.
   • (Archaic) A type of candy: A hard, striped peppermint-flavored candy.

2. Verb:

   • To deceive or trick: To deliberately mislead someone through lies or dishonest actions.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • His claim of being a prince was soon exposed as pure humbug.
  • The politician's speech was full of empty humbug.
  • She offered him a humbug from the jar.

• Verb:

  • The con artist tried to humbug the elderly couple out of their savings.
  • Don't let him humbug you into believing his wild stories.

Advanced Usage

• "Bah, humbug!": A famous exclamation of disgust or cynicism, popularized by Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens's . It expresses contempt for festive sentiment, often implying it is fake or hypocritical.
  • When asked for a donation, the miser just grumbled, "Bah, humbug!"

Variants and Related Words

• Humbuggery (noun): The practice of deception or trickery.
  • The industry was rife with fraud and humbuggery.

Synonyms

• Noun: Deception, fraud, hoax, imposture, nonsense, balderdash, bunk.
• Verb: Deceive, dupe, hoodwink, bamboozle, swindle.

Related Phrases

• To be a humbug: To be a person who is a fraud or impostor.
  • The self-proclaimed guru turned out to be a complete humbug.

Idioms

• Bah, humbug!: An expression of cynical rejection, especially of cheerful Christmas traditions.
  • "Christmas is a waste of money." "Oh, don't be such a Scrooge with your 'bah, humbug'!"

Noun

1. something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage
2. communication (written or spoken) intended to deceive
3. pretentious or silly talk or writing

Verb

1. trick or deceive