hugger-mugger
hug·ger·mug·ger
noun
1.
a state of confusion; ritual accompanied by complicated and purposeless activity that obscures and confuses
- “he engaged in the hugger-mugger of international finance”
adverb
1.
adjective
1.
- “a disorderly pile of clothes”
2.
conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods
- “clandestine intelligence operations”
- “cloak-and-dagger activities behind enemy lines”
- “hole-and-corner intrigue”
- “secret missions”
- “a secret agent”
- “secret sales of arms”
- “surreptitious mobilization of troops”
- “an undercover investigation”
- “underground resistance”
verb
1.
Origin
Unknown; perhaps from Anglo-Irish cuggermugger (“a whispering, a low-voiced gossiping”), from Irish cogar (“whisper”). Compare also Scots hudge-mudge, hody-moke, Swedish mjugg (“stealth, secrecy”).
Related words
Word family
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.