You searched for: “humbug
humbug (HUHM buhg) (s) (noun), humbugs (pl)
1. Deliberate trickery or fraud that is intended to gain some kind of advantage: The con men were setting up a humbug to sell fake jewels and watches.
2. Someone who attempts to deceive or to dupe another person: The speeches of the humbug that was running for office attempted to gloss over his dubious accomplishments and false promises.

That humbug tried to pass herself off as a legitimate lawyer.

3. That which is nonsense or deceiving: Free medical care? Humbug!
4. In Britain, a hard candy; especially, one that is flavored with peppermint: Mrs. Jackson bought some humbug as an additional surprise for her son's birthday because this was one of his favorite sweets.
5. Etymology: a slang term that came into use in England about 1750 meaning fraud, sham; but its origin was lost before it attracted attention; so, its origin is not known. A person who is engaged in deception or fraud was first recorded in 1804.

An Original Creation for Charles Darwin

The well-known naturalist, Charles Darwin, was once approached by two young boys of a family where he was a guest.

Earlier they were out in a grassy field where they caught a butterfly, a centipede, a beetle, and a grasshopper.

Using the centipede's body, the butterfly's wings, the beetle's head, and the grasshopper's legs; the boys glued them together to compile a unique insect.

"We caught this bug in the field", they told Darwin. "Do you know what kind of a bug it is Mr. Darwin?"

Darwin looked at it with what appeared to be great interest. "Did you notice whether it hummed when you caught it, boys?", he asked as if he were serious.

"Yes, sir", they responded, as they struggled to hide their laughter.

"Just as I thought", said Darwin. "This is a humbug".


—Compiled with minor modifications from
2500 Anecdotes for All Occasions, edited by Edmund Fuller;
Wings Books, Publisher; New York; 1990 edition; pages 192-193.

Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.

—Charles Darwin, Introduction to The Descent of Man, 1871.
This entry is located in the following unit: English Words in Action, Group H (page 4)
humbug (verb), humbugs; humbugged; humbugging
To take part in a deception or to deceive someone: The couple on the street were trying to humbug me into believing their sad story so I would give them some money.

P.T. Barnum is quoted as saying: "The people like to be humbugged."

This entry is located in the following unit: English Words in Action, Group H (page 4)