Yahoo Web Search

Search results

1. Dictionary

   hugger-mugger

   /ˈhʌɡəmʌɡə/

   adjective

   • 1. confused; disorderly: "a spirit of careless frivolity where all was hugger-mugger" Similar disorderlyconfuseddisorganizedchaoticmuddledhaphazardin a messin a shamblesin disarraytopsy-turvyat sixes and sevensinformal:higgledy-piggledyshambolicOpposite orderly
   • 2. secret; clandestine: "there was no longer the hugger-mugger anecdote, or any juicy elbow-gripping gossip" Similar clandestinesecretcovertfurtivecloak-and-daggerhole-in-the-cornerbehind-the-scenesunder-the-tablesneakyslyunderhandundercoverundergroundblackinformal:hush-hushOpposite above board

   noun

   • 1. disorder or confusion: "the vast hugger-mugger of alleys"
   • 2. secrecy or secretive behaviour: "he declared war on hugger-mugger and conspiracy, clandestine deals sealed in back rooms"

   Word Origin early 16th century (in hugger-mugger (sense 2 of the noun)): probably related to huddle and to dialect mucker ‘hoard money, conceal’. This is one of a number of similar formations from late Middle English to the 16th century, including hucker-mucker and hudder-mudder, with the basic sense ‘secrecy, concealment’.

   Scrabble Points: 21

   • H

     4

   • U

     1

   • G

     2

   • G

     2

   • E

     1

   • R

     1

   • -

   • M

     3

   • U

     1

   • G

     2

   • G

     2

   • E

     1

   • R

     1

   Powered by Oxford Dictionaries

   More definitions, origin and scrabble points