jiggery-pokery

English

WOTD – 22 March 2010

Etymology

Borrowed from Scots joukery-pawkery (“trickery; deceit”) Attested in English since the nineteenth century. The earliest known use was in the Berkshire Chronicle in 1845.^[1]

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌdʒɪɡ.ə.ɹiˈpəʊ.kə.ɹi/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌdʒɪɡ.ɚ.iˈpoʊ.kɚ.i/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

jiggery-pokery (uncountable)

1. Trickery or misrepresentation.
   • 1975, Pamela Hansford Johnson, A Summer to Decide, Scribner, →ISBN, page 12:

     'Jiggery-pokery,' said Helena, 'you talk jiggery-pokery. Stop it, can't you?'

   • 2015, Peter Hain, Back to the Future of Socialism:

     Much as 'off-balance sheet' jiggery-pokery and other 'creative accounting' allowed banks to get away with false impressions of their true financial position...

2. Manipulation.
   • 1845 December 27, “Protection to Agriculture”, in Berkshire Chronicle:

     ...under the present law, the averages were made up so faithfully and fairly as to prevent any jiggery-pokery.

   • 1892, Philip Stanhope, Lightning (journal), Letter XXVII:

     ...what my friend Singleton calls "rigging, cornering, and general jiggery-pokery methods,"...

   • 1964, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).: House of Commons official report, Volume 707, H.M. Stationery Office, page 805:

     The hon. Member for Dover is suggesting that if all the facts were revealed, there would be less danger of people thinking that there was jiggery-pokery.

3. (euphemistic) Sexual intercourse.
   • 2002, Olivia Judson, Dr Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation:

     ...the males, like most birds, have no penis. But that doesn't stop a bit of gay jiggery-pokery.

Synonyms

• (trickery): hanky-panky, skulduggery, trickery
• (sexual intercourse): See Thesaurus:copulation

Translations

trickery or misrepresentation

Armenian: խաբեություն (hy) (xabeutʻyun), աղավաղում (hy) (aġavaġum), նենգափոխություն (hy) (nengapʻoxutʻyun) Finnish: hämäys (fi) Georgian: თაღლითობა (taɣlitoba), სისულელე (sisulele), ჩმახი (čmaxi), მოტყუება (moṭq̇ueba) Italian: frottola (it), beffa (it) Japanese: 誤魔化し (ja) (ごまかし, gomakashi) (general trickery), 裏工作 (うらこうさく, ura kōsaku) (behind-the-scenes manipulation) Russian: моше́нничество (ru) n (mošénničestvo), надувательство (ru) n (naduvatelʹstvo) Spanish: cachondeo (es), trufa (es) Ukrainian: інтриги (intryhy), підступи (pidstupy)

References

1. Ammon Shea (2015 June 25) “What Does "Jiggery-Pokery" Mean?”, in Merriam-Webster