hugger-mugger
/ˈhʌɡ.əˌmʌɡ.ə/US/ˈhʌɡ.ɚˌmʌɡ.ɚ/
hugger-mugger adjective: secret, clandestine, sly.
Adjective
hugger-mugger (comparative more hugger-mugger, superlative most hugger-mugger)
- Secret, clandestine, sly.
- Synonyms:
- abstruse, behind the scenes, catlike, backroom, backstairs, stealth, clandestine, cloak-and-dagger, concealed, confidential
- Disorderly, chaotic, confused.
- hugger-mugger doings
- So Brad McLaughlin mingled reckless talk
Of heavenly stars with hugger-mugger farming,
Till having failed at hugger-mugger farming,
He burned his house down for the fire insurance
And spent the proceeds on a telescope […]1923 October, Robert Frost, “[Notes.] The Star-splitter.”, in New Hampshire […], New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, →OCLC, page 27
Noun
hugger-mugger (uncountable)
- Secrecy.
- […]; and we haue done but greenly
In hugger mugger to interre him.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac... - Many things have been done in Hugger mugger in our Age, prophane perſons conceited that their privacy protected them from divine inſpection.1660, Thomas Fuller, “Not invisible”, in Mixt Contemplations in Better Times, London: […] R[oger] D[aniel] for Iohn Williams, […], →OCLC, page 74
- […]; and we haue done but greenly
- Disorder.
- As we passed through the quadrangle the church was glowing more brightly than a pearl, like a lily in strong sunlight, in spite of all the scaffolding and hugger-mugger.1942, Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, Canongate, published 2006, page 990
- Portentous events and lots of huggermugger quickly proliferate, as they always in Pynchon-land: a dead body turns up near the pool in a famous Upper West Side building; […]2013 September 10, Michiko Kakutani, “A Calamity Tailor-Made for Internet Conspiracy Theories”, in New York Times
Adverb
hugger-mugger (comparative more hugger-mugger, superlative most hugger-mugger)
- Secretly.
- Confusedly, in a muddle.
Verb
hugger-mugger (third-person singular simple present hugger-muggers, present participle hugger-muggering, simple past and past participle hugger-muggered)
- To meet or act secretly.
hugger-mugger meaning in Tamil, Bengali and Malayalam
hugger-mugger in Tamil
- குழப்பம், குளறுபடி, தெளிவின்மை, ஒழுங்கின்மை, இரகசியம், அந்தரங்கம்
hugger-mugger in Bengali
- গোপনীয়তা, বিশৃঙ্খলা, গোপনীয় কাজ
hugger-mugger in Malayalam
- disorganized, disorderly, confused
- ക്രമഭംഗമായ, താറുമാറായ, കുഴഞ്ഞ, കുഴഞ്ഞുമറിഞ്ഞ, അലങ്കോലപ്പെട്ട, മുറതെറ്റിയ
- covert, clandestine, secret
- ഗുപ്തമായ, ഗൂഢമായ, ഒളിഞ്ഞുമറഞ്ഞുള്ള, ഒളിച്ചും പതുങ്ങിയുമുള്ള, ഒളിച്ചും പാത്തുമുള്ള, ഒളിച്ചും മറഞ്ഞുമുള്ള
Synonyms of hugger-mugger
- abstruse
- behind the scenes
- catlike
- backroom
- backstairs
- stealth
- clandestine
- cloak-and-dagger
- concealed
- confidential
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
- covert
- deep-laid
- dern
- disguised
- furtive
- huggermugger
- hush-hush
- inconspicuous
- incognito
- low profile
- lurksome
- lurky
- mousy
- obfuscated
- off-the-books
- on the down-low
- on the sly
- secret
- secretive
- slinky
- sly
- sneaky
- stealthy
- sub rosa
- surreptitious
- under-the-table
- under the radar
- under wraps
- undercover
- underground
Forms of hugger-mugger
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more hugger-mugger |
| superlative | most hugger-mugger |
| alternative form | huggermugger |
| alternative form (obsolete) | hucker-mucker |
| alternative form (obsolete) | hoker-moker |
| Adverb | |
| comparative | more hugger-mugger |
| superlative | most hugger-mugger |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | hugger-muggers |
| present participle | hugger-muggering |
| past participle | hugger-muggered |
| past | hugger-muggered |
Origin of hugger-mugger
Unknown; perhaps from Anglo-Irish cuggermugger (“a whispering, a low-voiced gossiping”), from Irish cogar (“whisper”). Compare also Scots hudge-mudge, hody-moke, Swedish mjugg (“stealth, secrecy”).
Words formed from hugger-mugger
Questions about hugger-mugger
- What does hugger-mugger mean?
- Hugger-mugger means secret, clandestine, sly.
- What is hugger-mugger in Tamil?
- Hugger-mugger in Tamil is குழப்பம், குளறுபடி, தெளிவின்மை. See Hugger-mugger meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is hugger-mugger?
- Hugger-mugger can be an adjective, a noun, an adverb or a verb.
- How do you pronounce hugger-mugger?
- Hugger-mugger is pronounced /ˈhʌɡ.əˌmʌɡ.ə/ (UK).
Words near hugger-mugger in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: hugger-mugger (page history and authors); hugger-mugger (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); hugger-mugger (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); hugger-mugger (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-hugger-mugger.wav.
Cite this entry: “hugger-mugger.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hugger-mugger. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.