mumbo-jumbo

Noun

mumbo jumbo (countable and uncountable, plural mumbo jumbos)

1. (historical) A deity or other supernatural being said to have been worshipped by certain West African peoples; an idol.
   • So likewise a day comes when the Runic Thor, with his Eddas, must withdraw into dimness; and many an African Mumbo-Jumbo and Indian Pawpaw be utterly abolished.1831, Thomas Carlyle, “Symbols”, in Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh. […], London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, 3rd book, page 155
2. Any object of superstition; religious words and/or actions which are seen as superstitious or fraudulent.
   • Rev. Quack's healing services are little more than mumbo jumbo.
3. (broadly) Any confusing or meaningless speech; nonsense, gibberish.
   • Football lingo is mumbo jumbo to me.

   Synonyms:

   absurdity, all my eye, all my eye and Betty Martin, apple grease, applesauce, bafflegab, balderdash, balls, baloney, banana oil