English-Thai Dictionary
hugger-mugger
N ความ สับสน ความลับ
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
HUGGER-MUGGER
n.[Hugger contains the elements of hug and hedge, and mugger, those of smoke. ] In hugger-mugger, denotes in privacy or secrecy, and the word adverbially used, denotes secretly. [It is a low cant word. ]
Webster's 1913 Dictionary
HUGGER-MUGGER
Hug "ger-mug `ger, n. Etym: [Scot. huggrie-muggrie; Prov. E. hugger to lie in ambush, mug mist, muggard sullen. ]
Defn: Privacy; secrecy. Commonly in the phrase in hugger-mugger, with haste and secrecy. [Archaic ] Many things have been done in hugger-mugger. Fuller.
HUGGER-MUGGER
HUGGER-MUGGER Hug "ger-mug `ger, a.
1. Secret; clandestine; sly.
2. Confused; disorderly; slovenly; mean; as, hugger-mugger doings.
New American Oxford Dictionary
hugger-mugger
hug ger-mug ger |ˈhəgər ˌməgər ˈhəɡər ˌməɡər | ▶adjective 1 confused; disorderly: a spirit of careless frivolity where all was hugger-mugger. 2 secret; clandestine. ▶noun 1 confusion; muddle. 2 secrecy. ORIGIN early 16th cent. ( 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 cent. , including hucker-mucker and hudder-mudder, with the basic sense ‘secrecy, concealment. ’
Oxford Dictionary
hugger-mugger
hugger-mugger |ˈhʌgəmʌgə | ▶adjective 1 confused; disorderly: a spirit of careless frivolity where all was hugger-mugger. 2 secret; clandestine. ▶noun [ mass noun ] 1 disorder or confusion. 2 secrecy or secretive behaviour. ORIGIN early 16th cent. (in 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 cent. , including hucker-mucker and hudder-mudder, with the basic sense ‘secrecy, concealment ’.
Oxford Thesaurus
hugger-mugger
hugger-mugger adjective 1 a spirit of careless frivolity where all was hugger-mugger: disorderly, confused, disorganized, chaotic, muddled, haphazard, in a mess, in a shambles, in disarray, topsy-turvy, at sixes and sevens; informal higgledy-piggledy; Brit. informal shambolic. ANTONYMS orderly. 2 no more hugger-mugger dealings for me! clandestine, secret, covert, furtive, cloak-and-dagger, hole-in-the-corner, behind-the-scenes, under-the-table, sneaky, sly, underhand; undercover, underground; informal hush-hush. ANTONYMS above board.
The Wordsmith Dictionary