jiggery-pokery

/ˌˈdʒɪgəri ˌˈpoʊkəri/

Jiggery-pokery refers to trickery and deception. It's a fun, old-fashioned word that's in the same family as other repetitive-sounding terms for shady behavior, like hocus-pocus, flim-flam, and hanky-panky.

Remember jiggery-pokery by thinking of the trickery that a skilled pickpocket might employ. The victim of the ruse might get poked in one part of the body so his brain doesn't register the sensation of another hand in his pocket. The idea of nimble fingers might connect to this word's roots in the Scottish jouk, which means to move your body to avoid a blow, twisting around in in the way of a gymnast or an acrobat.

Definitions of jiggery-pokery

1. noun

   dishonest or underhanded behavior
   synonyms: hanky panky, hocus-pocus, skulduggery, skullduggery, slickness, trickery

   type of:

   deceit, deception, misrepresentation

   a misleading falsehood