mumbo jumbo
/ˌmʌmbəʊ ˈdʒʌmbəʊ
/noun [mass noun] informal
Language or ritual causing or intended to cause confusion or bewilderment: a maze of legal mumbo jumbo...
- It's all mumbo-jumbo, ancient rituals that for some extraordinary reason we've stuck with.
- So, in spite of what I wrote above, I don't think we should get ourselves caught up in some sort of legal mumbo-jumbo legal definition of what ‘identify’ means.
- It was if he was teasing me with the start of a question, then regressing into mumbo-jumbo just to confuse me.
Synonyms
nonsense, gibberish, claptrap, rubbish, balderdash, blather, blether;
rigmarole;
jargon, unintelligible language, obscure language, hocus-pocus
informal gobbledegook, double Dutch, argle-bargle, bull
Origin
Mid 18th century (as Mumbo Jumbo, denoting a supposed African idol): of unknown origin; the current sense dates from the late 19th century.