World Wide Words: Humdudgeon

Seemingly a blend of humbug and dudgeon, it is first recorded in Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue in 1785, in which he says “He has got the hum dugeon, the thickest part of his thigh is nearest his arse; i.e. nothing ails him except low spirits”. The word was obsolete, according to Partridge, by the 1890s.

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Page created 7 Mar. 1998

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