bamboozle
verb/bæmˈbuː.zl̩/UK/bæmˈbu.zl̩/US
Etymology
Derivative of 17th-century vernacular bam (“to trick, to con”), which is a derivative of bam in noun use (fraudster, cheat). Possibly from French embobiner.
- derived from embobiner
Definitions
To con, defraud, trick, to make a fool of, to humbug or impose on someone.
- “Look here, friend,” said I, “if you have anything important to tell us, out with it; but if you are only trying to bamboozle us, you are mistaken in your game; that’s all I have to say.”
To confuse, frustrate or perplex.
- He's completely bamboozled by the changes in the computer system.
- "Although Morphy misplays the opening, it does not take him long to bamboozle his opponent."
- Clarke's defence, bolstered by the return of Grant Hanley, was bamboozled by a flurry of Faroese raids, at least one of which should have delivered a goal.
A cheat, hoax, or imposition.
The neighborhood
Derived
bamboozl(e)able, bamboozlement, bamboozler, bambosh, bamfoozle, debamboozle
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for bamboozle. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA