different between gobbledygook vs hogwash

English

Alternative forms

• gobbledegook; gobblygook, garbley gook, gobbly-gook

Etymology

First attested in a memo by US Representative (Texas) Maury Maverick dated March 30, 1944, banning "gobbledygook language". Apparently coined in imitation of the sounds made by a turkey.

Mr. Maury Maverick was, incidentally, the grandson of lawyer and politician Samuel Maverick, whose behaviour regarding his cattle inspired the term maverick ("offbeat").

Pronunciation

Noun

gobbledygook (usually uncountable, plural gobbledygooks)

1. (informal) Nonsense; meaningless or encrypted language.
2. (informal) Something written in an overly complex, incoherent, or incomprehensible manner.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:nonsense

Translations

English

Etymology

From Middle English *hoggewasch (found only as Middle English hoggyswasch (“refuse of the kitchen for feeding pigs”, literally “hog's wash”)), equivalent to hog +? wash.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?h??w??/

Noun

hogwash (usually uncountable, plural hogwashes)

1. (informal, figuratively) Foolish talk or writing; nonsense.

   Synonyms: nonsense; see also Thesaurus:nonsense
2. (literally) A mixture of solid and liquid food scraps fed to pigs; swill. [from mid 15th c.]

   Synonyms: slop, slops, swill

Related terms

• pigwash
• pigswill from swill
• See Derived terms of wash

Translations