bamboozle
nounEtymology 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.
bamboozle
verbUK /bæmˈbuː.zl̩/ · US /bæmˈbu.zl̩/
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.
1
Informal 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.”1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 19”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
- You thought it was nope. But actually it's a pupper. Bamboozled again.2018 March 6, Lucid Software, Nope Chart - Internet Names for Spiders, YouTube:
2
Informal 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."1951 February, “Chess Caviar”, in Chess Review:
1 more example
- 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.2021 October 12, Jamie Lyall, “Faroe Islands 0-1 Scotland”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 18 Nov 2021:
- Derived terms
- bamboozl(e)able, bamboozlement, bamboozler, bambosh, bamfoozle, debamboozle