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mumbo jumbo
(redirected from mumbo-jumbo)

   Also found in: Wikipedia 0.02 sec.
mum·bo jum·bo or mum·bo-jum·bo  (mmb-jmb)
n. pl. mum·bo jum·bos or mum·bo-jum·bos
1. Unintelligible or incomprehensible language; gibberish.
2. Language or ritualistic activity intended to confuse.
3. A complicated or obscure ritual.
4. An object believed to have supernatural powers; a fetish.

[Perhaps of Mandingo origin .]

mumbo jumbo [ˈmʌmbəʊ]
n pl mumbo jumbos
1. (Spirituality, New Age, Astrology & Self-help / Alternative Belief Systems) foolish religious reverence, ritual, or incantation
2. (Linguistics) meaningless or unnecessarily complicated language
3. (Spirituality, New Age, Astrology & Self-help / Alternative Belief Systems) an object of superstitious awe or reverence
[probably from Mandingo mama dyumbo, name of a tribal god]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.mumbo jumbo - language or ritual causing, or intending to cause, confusion
gibber, gibberish - unintelligible talking

mumbo jumbo
noun
1. gibberish, nonsense, jargon, humbug, cant, Greek (informal), claptrap (informal), gobbledegook (informal), rigmarole, double talk It's all full of psychoanalytic mumbo jumbo.
2. superstition, magic, ritual, hocus-pocus He dabbled in all sorts of mumbo jumbo.
Translations
mumbo jumbo [ˈmʌmbəʊˈdʒʌmbəʊ] N (= nonsense) → galimatías m inv
mumbo jumbo [ˌmʌmbəʊˈdʒʌmbəʊ] nbaragouin m, charabia m
mumbo jumbo
n (= empty ritual, superstition)Hokuspokus m; (= gibberish)Kauderwelsch nt; (= idol)Abgott m
mumbo jumbo [ˌmʌmbəʊˈdʒʌmbəʊ] n (pej) → sfilza di paroloni
mumbo jumbo [ˌmʌmbəʊˈdʒʌmbəʊ] n (pej) → sfilza di paroloni


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