Jiggery-pokery refers to trickery and deception. It's a fun, old-fashioned word that's in the same family as other repetitive-sounding terms for shady behavior, like hocus-pocus, flim-flam, and hanky-panky.
Remember jiggery-pokery by thinking of the trickery that a skilled pickpocket might employ. The victim of the ruse might get poked in one part of the body so his brain doesn't register the sensation of another hand in his pocket. The idea of nimble fingers might connect to this word's roots in the Scottish jouk, which means to move your body to avoid a blow, twisting around in in the way of a gymnast or an acrobat.
WORD FAMILY
jiggery-pokery
USAGE EXAMPLES
Willie Rennie called for the "immediate publication" of a national survey of schools attainment in Scotland, accusing the SNP of "jiggery-pokery".
BBC(Apr 21, 2016)
He was known for his sense of humour and colourful language, calling efforts to defend President Obama's healthcare reform law "jiggery-pokery" and "pure applesauce".
BBC(Feb 14, 2016)
Burwell ruling that upheld the Affordable Care Act, Scalia accused his colleagues of committing “interpretive jiggery-pokery” and dismissed their reasoning as “pure applesauce.”