Mum|bo Jum|bo

Mum|bo Jum|bo
Mum|bo Jum|bo «MUHM boh JUHM boh»,
the guardian genius of a native African village in western Sudan, represented by a masked medicine man who fends off evil and keeps the women in subjection: »

Mumbo Jumbo, God of the Congo…will hoo-doo you (Vachel Lindsay).

╂[allegedly a West African language; origin unknown]
1. foolish or meaningless incantation; ritualistic or ceremonial nonsense: »

You are lost if you preoccupy yourself with the old mumbo jumbo…of an era that is done (Harper's).

2. an object foolishly worshiped or feared; bugaboo; bogy. SYNONYM(S): fetish.

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • mum·bo jum·bo — /ˌmʌmboʊˈʤʌmboʊ/ noun [noncount] informal : confusing or meaningless words or activity : ↑nonsense We were confused by all the legal mumbo jumbo. His explanation was just a lot of mumbo jumbo …   Useful english dictionary

  • mumbojumbo — mum·bo jum·bo or mum·bo jum·bo (mŭmʹbō jŭmʹbō) n. pl. 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… …   Universalium

  • mumbo jumbo — mum•bo jum•bo [[t]ˈmʌm boʊ ˈdʒʌm boʊ[/t]] n. pl. mumbo jum•bos 1) meaningless incantation or ritual 2) senseless or pretentious language, usu. designed to obscure or confuse 3) an object of superstitious awe or reverence • Etymology: 1738; first… …   From formal English to slang

  • mumbo jumbo — /mum boh jum boh/, pl. mumbo jumbos. 1. meaningless incantation or ritual. 2. senseless or pretentious language, usually designed to obscure an issue, confuse a listener, or the like. 3. an object of superstitious awe or reverence. 4. (caps.) the …   Universalium

  • mumbo-jumbo — mum|bo jum|bo [ˌmʌmbəu ˈdʒʌmbəu US bou ˈdʒʌmbou] n [U] informal [Date: 1700 1800; Origin: Mumbo Jumbo name of a supposed African god] technical language that is difficult to understand and seems to have no sense ▪ a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • mumbo-jumbo — mum|bo jum|bo [ ,mʌmbou dʒʌmbou ] noun uncount INFORMAL ideas, beliefs, or customs that you think are nonsense …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • mumbo jumbo —    (MUM boh JUM boh) [West African, possibly Mandingo] Meaningless ritual; senseless observance; needlessly complicated incantation or language; gibberish; gobbledygook. A fetish, or object of superstitious reverence or fear.    with enough… …   Dictionary of foreign words and phrases

  • Mumbo Jumbo — Mum bo Jum bo, n. [Perh. fr. the native name of an African god.] 1. Among the Mandingos of the western Sudan, a bugbear by means of which the women are terrified and disciplined by societies of the men, one of whom assumes a masquerade for the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • mumbo jumbo — [mum′bō jum′bō] n. [of Afr orig.: meaning, form, & dialect uncert.] 1. [M J ] among certain West African tribes, an idol or god believed to protect the people from evil and terrorize the women into subjection 2. a) any idol or fetish b) any… …   English World dictionary

  • aš — àš pron. pers. I prs. sing. 1. SD73 vartojamas kalbančiojo žymėti pačiam save: Aš darbe pirmūnė noriu būti rš. Aš jai kėliau kepurėlę, ji man nė žodelio J.Jabl. Aš daug ašarų praliejau jo dėlei B. ^ Aš jam kalną pyliau, o jis man duobę kasa B.… …   Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language

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