hornswoggle

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hornswoggle

/ˈhɔːn.swɒɡ.əl/ UK
/ˈhɔɹn.swɑ.ɡəl/ US

Where it comes from

Unknown, 1829 US, jocular coinage like contemporary absquatulate. Presumably horns + waggle with humorous faux ablaut or combination with wobble (compare later woggle, 1923), perhaps inspired by lassoed steers trying to escape by moving their head.

verb hornswoggles · hornswoggling · hornswoggled

slang, transitive To deceive or trick. Don't let them hornswoggle you into buying anything you don't need.
Similar: deceive, dupe, trick

noun

slang nonsense; humbug

Translations

Every language

verb to deceive or trick

Italiano	buggerare
Русский	одура́чить oduráčitʹ

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MLA

"hornswoggle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hornswoggle. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

hornswoggle. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hornswoggle

Chicago

"hornswoggle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hornswoggle.

BibTeX

@misc{hornswoggle_2026,
  title = {hornswoggle},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hornswoggle},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}