hugger-mugger
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hugger-mugger
- /ˈhʌɡ.əˌmʌɡ.ə/ UK
- /ˌhʌɡ.əˈmʌɡ.ə/ UK
- /ˈhʌɡ.ɚˌmʌɡ.ɚ/ US
Where it comes from
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”).
adjective more hugger-mugger · most hugger-mugger · huggermugger · hucker-mucker · hoker-moker
-
Secret, clandestine, sly.
Similar: abstruse, behind the scenes, catlike, backroom, backstairs, stealth, clandestine, cloak-and-dagger, concealed, confidential, covert, deep-laid
- Disorderly, chaotic, confused. hugger-mugger doings
noun huggermugger · hucker-mucker · hoker-moker
- Secrecy. […]; and we haue done but greenly In hugger mugger to interre him.
- Disorder. As we passed through the quadrangle the church was glowing more brightly than a pearl, like a lily in strong sunlight, in spite of all the scaffolding and hugger-mugger.
adverb more hugger-mugger · most hugger-mugger · huggermugger · hucker-mucker · hoker-moker
- Secretly.
- Confusedly, in a muddle.
verb hugger-muggers · hugger-muggering · hugger-muggered · huggermugger · hucker-mucker
- To meet or act secretly.
Talk about this word "hugger-mugger." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hugger-mugger. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. hugger-mugger. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hugger-mugger "hugger-mugger." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hugger-mugger.Cite this
@misc{hugger_mugger_2026,
title = {hugger-mugger},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hugger-mugger},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
