humbug

"Raising money and going for valuation every few days is all humbug."

From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2024

If holiday clutter has you more bah humbug than merry, these tips from professional organizers around Seattle might make your life easier before and after the holidays, and well into the new year.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 15, 2023

In her more measured than humbug review, Bahr said “Spirited” “comes up short as a musical,” but “is still pretty enjoyable.”

From Washington Times ● Nov. 11, 2022

But Scrooge didn't originate the term humbug — and he meant something more specific than "I hate Christmas!" when he uttered it.

From Salon ● Dec. 25, 2021

From their ranks at Corinthian Hall, Wednesday night’s audience selected a five-man committee to test Maggie and Leah and decide whether the rappings were a humbug.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

“He used these humbugs, as he called them, to create excitement and bring people in,” Wilson says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2026

Joined by his wife Katie, he plunges into another assignment, as he tries to get the "spirit of Christmas" back from the dastardly humbugs.

From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2024

In Poe’s lifetime, a handful of well-connected American scientists advanced plans to build national institutions to distinguish “real working men in the way of science” from charlatans, quacks, and humbugs.

From Slate ● Aug. 2, 2021

Chronicling the history of such fakers as Smelcer, Young offers a long history of the hoax, beginning with a series of famous humbugs from P. T. Barnum’s sideshow.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2017

Leah ultimately found one explanation that covered almost any difficult séance situation—the spirit world contained humbugs just like the mortal one— some spirits liked to play tricks; others simply lied.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

“Because,” he added, “Although I ain’t been in the city long, I ain’t to be humbugged; it won’t do for you to try to put off your confounded mock turtles on me!”

From Slate ● Apr. 29, 2018

The sooner America knows we are not going to be humbugged the better it is.

From Time Magazine Archive

P. T. Barnum recorded the fact that the American people delight in being humbugged, and such is still the national mood.

From Time Magazine Archive

The world is beginning to see how it has been humbugged, and it is becoming indifferent.

From Is The Bible Worth Reading And Other Essays by Washburn, L. K. (Lemuel Kelley)

It is incredible that intelligent people should be humbugged with such a fallacious proposition as Gresham’s so-called “law.”

From The Arena Volume 18, No. 93, August, 1897 by Various

Stranded in his "useless position" at Transport, Reith seethed while Churchill put together his "rotten" wartime coalition full of "humbugging and sycophantic" ministers.

From Time Magazine Archive

“It serves him quite right for humbugging as he does?”

From The Gentleman Cadet His Career and Adventures at the Royal Military Academy Woolwich by Drayson, A.W.

These views are not popular with the electors, and even the mob would entertain a strong suspicion that you were humbugging them.”

From Tales from Blackwood Volume 4 by Various

It’s surprising how these humbugging old myths survive in the country, and the further away from Town you get, the more you find of them.”

From Dorrien of Cranston by Mitford, Bertram

He did not believe she could, only that she had succeeded in humbugging these people most thoroughly.

From The Triumph of Hilary Blachland by Mitford, Bertram