humbug

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hum·bug

(hŭm′bŭg′)

1. Something intended to deceive; a hoax or fraud.

2. A person who claims to be other than what he or she is; an impostor.

3. Nonsense; rubbish.

4. Pretense; deception.

interj.

Used to express disbelief or disgust.

v. hum·bugged, hum·bug·ging, hum·bugs

v.tr.

To deceive or trick.

v.intr.

To practice deception or trickery.

[Origin unknown.]

hum′bug′ger n.

hum′bug′ger·y n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

humbug

(ˈhʌmˌbʌɡ)

1. a person or thing that tricks or deceives

2. nonsense; rubbish

3. (Cookery) Brit a hard boiled sweet, usually flavoured with peppermint and often having a striped pattern

vb, -bugs, -bugging or -bugged

to cheat or deceive (someone)

[C18: of unknown origin]

ˈhumˌbugger n

ˈhumˌbuggery n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

hum•bug

(ˈhʌmˌbʌg)

n., v. -bugged, -bug•ging,
interj. n.

1. something intended to delude or deceive.

2. a quality of falseness, deception, or hypocrisy.

3. a person who is not what he or she claims to be.

4. meaningless or empty talk; nonsense.

v.t.

5. to delude; deceive; trick.

v.i.

6. to practice deception.

interj.

7. nonsense!

[1730–40; orig. uncertain]

hum′bug`ger, n.

hum′bug`ger•y, n.

humbug

Past participle: humbugged
Gerund: humbugging

Imperative
humbug
humbug

Present
I humbug
you humbug
he/she/it humbugs
we humbug
you humbug
they humbug

Preterite
I humbugged
you humbugged
he/she/it humbugged
we humbugged
you humbugged
they humbugged

Present Continuous
I am humbugging
you are humbugging
he/she/it is humbugging
we are humbugging
you are humbugging
they are humbugging

Present Perfect
I have humbugged
you have humbugged
he/she/it has humbugged
we have humbugged
you have humbugged
they have humbugged

Past Continuous
I was humbugging
you were humbugging
he/she/it was humbugging
we were humbugging
you were humbugging
they were humbugging

Past Perfect
I had humbugged
you had humbugged
he/she/it had humbugged
we had humbugged
you had humbugged
they had humbugged

Future
I will humbug
you will humbug
he/she/it will humbug
we will humbug
you will humbug
they will humbug

Future Perfect
I will have humbugged
you will have humbugged
he/she/it will have humbugged
we will have humbugged
you will have humbugged
they will have humbugged

Future Continuous
I will be humbugging
you will be humbugging
he/she/it will be humbugging
we will be humbugging
you will be humbugging
they will be humbugging

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been humbugging
you have been humbugging
he/she/it has been humbugging
we have been humbugging
you have been humbugging
they have been humbugging

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been humbugging
you will have been humbugging
he/she/it will have been humbugging
we will have been humbugging
you will have been humbugging
they will have been humbugging

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been humbugging
you had been humbugging
he/she/it had been humbugging
we had been humbugging
you had been humbugging
they had been humbugging

Conditional
I would humbug
you would humbug
he/she/it would humbug
we would humbug
you would humbug
they would humbug

Past Conditional
I would have humbugged
you would have humbugged
he/she/it would have humbugged
we would have humbugged
you would have humbugged
they would have humbugged

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	humbug - pretentious or silly talk or writing baloney, bilgewater, boloney, bosh, drool, tommyrot, tosh, twaddle, taradiddle, tarradiddle hokum, meaninglessness, nonsense, nonsensicality, bunk - a message that seems to convey no meaning jargon, lingo, patois, argot, vernacular, slang, cant - a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves); "they don't speak our lingo"
	2.	humbug - communication (written or spoken) intended to deceive snake oil deception, misrepresentation, deceit - a misleading falsehood
	3.	humbug - something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage dupery, hoax, put-on, fraud, fraudulence chicanery, wile, shenanigan, trickery, guile, chicane - the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them) goldbrick - anything that is supposed to be valuable but turns out to be worthless
Verb	1.	humbug - trick or deceive cozen, deceive, delude, lead on - be false to; be dishonest with

humbug

noun nonsense, rubbish, trash, hypocrisy, cant, baloney (informal), claptrap (informal), quackery, eyewash (informal), charlatanry Britain's laws on homosexuality are hypocritical humbug.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

humbug

noun

One who fakes:

charlatan, fake, faker, fraud, impostor, mountebank, phony, pretender, quack.

verb

To cause to accept what is false, especially by trickery or misrepresentation:

beguile, betray, bluff, cozen, deceive, delude, double-cross, dupe, fool, hoodwink, mislead, take in, trick.

Informal: bamboozle, have.

Slang: four-flush.

Idioms: lead astray, play false, pull the wool over someone's eyes, put something over on, take for a ride.

Translations

paparrucha paparruchada

berlingot blague

imbroglione inganno ipocrisia tipo di dolce

humbug

[ˈhʌmbʌg] N

1. (= person) → charlatán/ana m/f
he's an old humbug → es un farsante

2. (= nonsense) → tonterías fpl
humbug! → ¡bobadas!

3. (Brit) (= sweet) → caramelo m de menta

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

humbug

[ˈhʌmbʌg] n

(= insincere talk) → tromperie f

(British) (= sweet) → bonbon m à la menthe

humbug

(Brit: = sweet) → Pfefferminzbonbon m or nt

(inf: = talk) → Humbug m, → Mumpitz m (inf)

(inf: = person) → Halunke m, → Gauner(in) m(f)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

humbug

[ˈhʌmˌbʌg] n (person) → impostore m; (nonsense) → frottole fpl, falsità (Brit) (sweet) → caramella alla menta

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

There were many requests from my little correspondents for "more about the Wizard." It seems the jolly old fellow made hosts of friends in the first Oz book, in spite of the fact that he frankly acknowledged himself "a humbug." The children had heard how he mounted into the sky in a balloon and they were all waiting for him to come down again.

View in context

"You're more than that," said the Scarecrow, in a grieved tone; "you're a humbug."

View in context

He was a tall, good-looking fellow enough; but if ever there was a humbug in the shape of a groom Alfred Smirk was the man.

View in context

I took quick note of that; it indicated that a humbug didn't need to have a reputation in this asylum; people stood ready to take him at his word, without that.

View in context

"I hadn't much confidence in his brains myself, when first I came to Oz, for a humbug Wizard gave them to him; but I was soon convinced that the Scarecrow is really wise; and, unless his brains make him so, such wisdom is unaccountable."

View in context

thought I, and we walked away, both commenting, after each other's fashion, upon this ragged old sailor; and agreed that he was nothing but a humbug, trying to be a bugbear.

View in context

Obviously, a humbug, thinking only of winning his little race, would stand a chance of profiting by his artifices.

View in context

was a humbug. (Immense confusion, and loud cries of "Chair," and "Order.")

View in context

"Poh!" said Alfred; "one of Tom Jefferson's pieces of French sentiment and humbug. It's perfectly ridiculous to have that going the rounds among us, to this day."

View in context

He waited until the place had become absolutely silent and expectant, then he delivered his deadliest shot; delivered it with ice-cold seriousness and deliberation, with a significant emphasis upon the closing words: he said he believed that the reward offered for the lost knife was humbug and bunkum, and that its owner would know where to find it whenever he should have occasion TO ASSASSINATE SOMEBODY.

View in context

Richard groaned under it; he longed to leap forward and denounce the humbug. And the humbug himself?

View in context

"If I don't save her from the hands of that humbug," he said, aloud, as he went to bed, "she is lost.