Meaning of "humbug" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD HUMBUG

Of unknown origin.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF HUMBUG

humbug  [ˈhʌmˌbʌɡ]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF HUMBUG

Humbug is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb humbug in English.

WHAT DOES HUMBUG MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Humbug

A humbug is a person or object that behaves in a deceptive or dishonest way, often as a hoax or in jest. The term was first described in 1751 as student slang, and recorded in 1840 as a "nautical phrase". It is now also often used as an exclamation to mean nonsense or gibberish. When referring to a person, a humbug means a fraud or impostor, implying an element of unjustified publicity and spectacle. In modern usage, the word is most associated with Ebenezer Scrooge, a character created by Charles Dickens. His famous reference to Christmas, "Bah! Humbug!", declaring Christmas to be a fraud, is commonly used in stage and television versions of A Christmas Carol and also appeared frequently in the original book. The word is also prominently used in The Wizard of Oz, where the wizard describes himself as "just a humbug." Another use of the word was by John Collins Warren, a Harvard Medical School professor who worked at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Warren performed the first public operation with the use of ether anesthesia, administered by William Thomas Green Morton, a dentist. To the stunned audience at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr.

Definition of humbug in the English dictionary

The first definition of humbug in the dictionary is a person or thing that tricks or deceives. Other definition of humbug is nonsense; rubbish. Humbug is also a hard boiled sweet, usually flavoured with peppermint and often having a striped pattern.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO HUMBUG

PRESENT

Present

I humbug

you humbug

he/she/it humbugs

we humbug

you humbug

they humbug

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

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

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I humbugged

you humbugged

he/she/it humbugged

we humbugged

you humbugged

they 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

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

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will humbug

you will humbug

he/she/it will humbug

we will humbug

you will humbug

they will humbug

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

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 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

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would humbug

you would humbug

he/she/it would humbug

we would humbug

you would humbug

they would humbug

Conditional continuous

I would be humbugging

you would be humbugging

he/she/it would be humbugging

we would be humbugging

you would be humbugging

they would be humbugging

Conditional perfect

I would have humbug

you would have humbug

he/she/it would have humbug

we would have humbug

you would have humbug

they would have humbug

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been humbugging

you would have been humbugging

he/she/it would have been humbugging

we would have been humbugging

you would have been humbugging

they would have been humbugging

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you humbug
we let´s humbug
you humbug

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to humbug

Past participle

humbugged

Present Participle

humbugging

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «HUMBUG»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «humbug» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of humbug

baloney · bamboozle · befool · beguile · bluff · canard · cant · charlatan · charlatanry · cheat · claptrap · con · con man · cozen · deceit · deceive · deception · delude · dodge · dupe · eyewash · faker · feint · fool · fraud · fraudster · gammon · grifter · gull · hoax · hoodwink · hypocrisy · impose · imposition · impostor · imposture · malarkey · mislead · nonsense · quack · quackery · rorter · rubbish · ruse · sham · swindle · swindler · take in · trash · trick · trickery · trickster · wile

TRANSLATION OF HUMBUG

Find out the translation of humbug to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of humbug from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «humbug» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 骗子
• Translator English - Spanish: embaucamiento
• English: humbug
• Translator English - Hindi: पाखण्ड
• Translator English - Arabic: هراء
• Translator English - Russian: обман
• Translator English - Portuguese: farsa
• Translator English - Bengali: হাম্বুগ্
• Translator English - French: fumisterie
• Translator English - Malay: Humbug
• Translator English - German: humbug
• Translator English - Japanese: ペテン師
• Translator English - Korean: 협잡
• Translator English - Javanese: Humbug
• Translator English - Vietnamese: thủ đoạn
• Translator English - Tamil: வெற்றுப் பேச்சு
• Translator English - Marathi: हंबब
• Translator English - Turkish: riyakârlık
• Translator English - Italian: humbug
• Translator English - Polish: humbug
• Translator English - Ukrainian: обман
• Translator English - Romanian: farsor
• Translator English - Greek: απάτη
• Translator English - Afrikaans: larie
• Translator English - Swedish: humbug
• Translator English - Norwegian: humbug

6 QUOTES WITH «HUMBUG»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word humbug.

1

Max Frisch

Either marriage is a destiny, I believe, or there is no sense in it at all, it's a piece of humbug.

2

Edmond de Goncourt

People don't like the true and simple; they like fairy tales and humbug.

3

Jack LaLanne

You don't have to call it God or Jesus. That's religious humbug to a lot of people, but you've gotta believe that nature and spiritual things surround us. That is what put us here! I thank the universe for that every day of my life.

4

Edouard Manet

There is only one true thing: instantly paint what you see. When you've got it, you've got it. When you haven't, you begin again. All the rest is humbug.

5

Alfred Nobel

Second to agriculture, humbug is the biggest industry of our age.

6

Alan K. Simpson

An educated man is thoroughly inoculated against humbug, thinks for himself and tries to give his thoughts, in speech or on paper, some style.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «HUMBUG»

Discover the use of humbug in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to humbug and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Humbug: The Art of P. T. Barnum

A biography of the famous American circus owner provides a detailed look at nineteenth-century popular culture This book is one of the most valuable contributions to American cultural studies of the nineteenth century in recent years.

Neil Harris, 1981

Humbug

With her parents in Tokyo and her grandmother laid up with a broken leg, Cora is sent to stay at the house of a neighbor, but the visit turns into a nightmare when the neighbor's daughter accuses Cora of stealing.

Nina Bawden, 1992

Humbug

Collects issues 1-11 of "Humbug," which satirized various political and social issues of the late 1950s in the United States, and contains an interview with Arnold Roth and Al Jaffee.

Harvey Kurtzman, 2009

Bah! Humbug?

Two children set a trap for Santa Claus but only one of them manages to see him.

Lorna Balian, Lecia Balian, 2006

Humbug

An upbeat and moving adaptation of Dickens' Christmas carol with a modern day twist.

John Wooten, 2008

Christmas Bah Humbug

'Christmas Bah Humbug', will do all that for you. Why not have a little titter this Christmas. 'Christmas Bah Humbug' - Suck it and see!

Stephen Stirk, 2008

Humbug!

On the night of the winter solstice--scoffing at the idea that the dream bug only rewards good bugs--Spiderus steals the berries Bounce brings to Eunice Earwig, and soon learns his lesson.

David Kirk, 2006

IRS humbug: IRS weapons of enslavement

This book covers its origin, history, limited applicability, how it is currently being implemented upon persons who are not employees of the U. S. Government, & remedy.

Frank Kowalik, 1991

The Prevalence of Humbug and Other Essays

Max Black. The Prevalence of Humbug It would be a wonderful thing for mankind if some philosophic Yankee would contrive some kind of "ometer" that would measure the infusion of humbug in anything. A "Humbugometer" he might call it.

Max Black, 1985

Beyond Humbug: Transforming Government Engagement with ...

Analyses the underpinnings of government policy failure extending from the demography of remote Australia, land tenure and native title, to program implementation challenges and the institutional underpinnings of Indigenous disadvantage.

Michael C. Dillon, Neil Westbury, 2007

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «HUMBUG»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term humbug is used in the context of the following news items.

Why Superfans Can Be Super&Scary For Companies

In 1850, P.T. Barnum, Jenny Lind's tour manager, was excoriated in the press for his blatant "humbug" and manipulation of the masses through ... «Co.Design, Jul 15»

Review: Max Beerbohm, 'The Prince of Minor Writers' and a Gentle …

... the 1980s as a great decade for contrarians and curmudgeons, for cheerful and sophisticated loathers of every sort of vanity and humbug. «New York Times, Jul 15»

Greece is being treated like a hostile occupied state

But at least there was no humbug about solidarity and helping Greece on that occasion. “It is the Versailles Treaty for the present age,” said Mr ... «Telegraph.co.uk, Jul 15»

Review: Tame Impala - 'Currents' - The DePaulia

It's a shift almost reminiscent of Alex Turner's jump from “Humbug” to “Suck it and See” and “AM;” from uncertainty to slick confidence. But unlike ... «The Depaulia, Jul 15»

An overdue appreciation of ST Gill, Australia's first painter of modern …

... possessing a dry humour, one who was true to his mates, but intolerant of all forms of authority, humbug and institutionalised religion. «ArtsHub, Jul 15»

In North Carolina, they've got more sharks than they can bear - NJ.com

But as for the locals' complaints, "I say, 'Bah, humbug!" he told me. "If the people who are responding this way are less than 30 or 40 years old, ... «NJ.com, Jul 15»

Wrong, then right

I have a pretty good imagination and could fill a few paragraphs with humbug." I say perhaps, Gary. Yet the desperate McAllister family back in ... «NWAOnline, Jul 15»

VOTE: Which selfie should win our second Oceanarium membership?

Humbug will be in another mystery location next weekend - so watch out for the clues to his whereabouts, get a pic of yourself with him and share it on social ... «Bournemouth Echo, Jul 15»

Liquor Bottle Was Key Clue in Finding Escapee

It was just after noon on Friday, June 26, when they walked into Willett's Humbug Mountain Hunting Club cabin, about 30 miles west of the ... «www.Officer.com, Jul 15»

HumBug: Giddyup!

Having rained the day before, the sky hung low and menacing over the warm, muggy, quiet clearing. Strangely at that moment there were very ... «The Journal, Jul 15»