How do you use the word "humbug" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "humbug": "Bah!" said Scrooge, "Humbug!" My profession? Poet and humbug.

Humbug Meaning

/ˈhʌmbʌɡ/

Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounA hoax, jest, or prank.

nounA fraud or sham; (uncountable) hypocrisy.

Sentence Examples

"Bah!" said Scrooge, "Humbug!"

My profession? Poet and humbug.

After that realisation, she swore off Facebook and all of its concomitant humbug.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

fraud

Antonyms:

None

CEFR Practice Quiz

His political campaign speech was full of ____ and empty promises.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

The old man dismissed the new invention as nothing more than expensive ____.

Word Origin & History

Origin unknown; the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) states that “the facts as to its origin appear to have been lost, even before the word became common enough to excite attention”. It has been suggested that the word possibly derives from hummer (“(slang) An obvious lie”), or from hum (“(dialectal and slang) to cajole; delude; impose on”) + bug (“a goblin, a spectre”). In his Slang Dictionary (1864), English bibliophile and publisher John Camden Hotten (1832–1873) suggested a link to the name of the German city of Hamburg, “from which town so many false bulletins and reports came during the war in the last century”, or alternatively a derivation from ambage. Hotten also said he had traced the earliest occurrence of the word to the title page of Ferdinando Killigrew’s book The Universal Jester (see quotations), which he dated to about 1735–1740. This dating has therefore been adopted by other dictionaries. However, the OED dates the word to about 1750, as the earliest edition of Killigrew’s work has been dated to 1754.

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"The universal jester: or, a pocket companion for the wits. Being a choice collection of merry conceits, facetious Drolleries, humorous Waggeries, smart Repartees, pleasant Jokes, Clenchers, Closures, Bon Mots, and Humbugs; comic Stories, notable Puns, witty Quibbles, and ridiculous Bulls. To which are added, Mr. Puzzlewit's gimcracks ; or, A long String of out-o'th'-way Conundrums, diverting Rebusses, poignant Epigrams, odd and uncommon Epitaphs, &c. &c. All calculated to promote inoffensive Mirth, and divert good Company with Elegance and Taste. Containing more in Number, and greater Variety, than any Book of the Kind yet published. Humbly inscribed to the choice spirits of the age. By Ferdinando Killigrew, Esq." — 1754, Ferdinando Killigrew, The Universal Jester: or, A Pocket Companion for the Wits, London: […] R. Whitworth, […]; J. Warcus, […]; R. Richards, […]; W. Mynors, […]; and W. Heard, […], →OCLC, title page:

"The profeſſor of the modern Humbugg, for ſuch is the polite name of this qualification, muſt either have from nature an unalterable countenance, or from art a power of commanding all its ſucceſſive variations, and preſerving it inviolably in each, as long as the present ſituation of the caſe renders it neceſſary: he muſt have a head full of imagination, and a heart empty of every trace of candor and humanity." — 1772 November, “A Short Dissertation on the Modern Art of Humbugging”, in The Covent-Garden Magazine; or, Amorous Repository: […], volume I, London: […] G. Allen, […], →OCLC, pages 175–176:

"Look at the affairs of nations on the widest scale—look at their intercourse with each other—look at the manifestoes, by which war is declared—look at the treaties, by which peace is restored—look at the professions of kings, or popes, or generals, or ministers. Is not cant, humbug, hypocrisy, the staple of them all? What is modern diplomacy, but a system of duplicity and deceit?" — 1822 August, “On Humbug, Pro and Con—and the Art of Puffing”, in [J. S. Boone], editor, The Council of Ten, volume I, number III, London: […] Thomas Wilkie, […], →OCLC, page 327:

"What is the civility of the landlord and his waiters but humbug? What the smirking, smiling, ducking and bowing of the shopkeeper, but humbug? What his sweet and gentle "yes, sirs," and "no, sirs," and "proud to serve you, sirs," but humbug? You are not goose enough to believe for a moment that he is serious, that he has either the least regard or respect for you." — 1840 August 29, “C.”, “Humbug”, in George Petrie, editor, The Irish Penny Journal. […], volume I, number 9, Dublin: […] Gunn and Cameron, […], published 1841, →OCLC, page 67, column 1:

"Many times a whole audience will not only be crowded into a small room, but are noisy disbelievers, call it all a humbug, distract the mind of the magnetizer, and added to these, absolutely outwill the magnetizer, in their wish to bring odium upon the science, and carry their points and gain their ends." — 1845, J[oseph] H. Bagg, “Magnetism as More Particularly Applied to Man, or What is Commonly Called Animal Magnetism, Clairvoyance, Catalepsy, Palsy, &c.”, in Bagg on Magnetism, or The Doctrine of Equilibrium: […], Detroit, Mich.: Bagg and Harmon, […], →OCLC, pages 170–171:

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