Mumbo Jumbo (phrase)
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- For the video game character see Mumbo Jumbo (Banjo-Kazooie).
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Mumbo Jumbo, or mumbojumbo is an English phrase or expression that denotes a confusing or meaningless subject. It is often used as humorous expression of criticism of middle-management and civil service non-speak, and of belief in something considered non-existent by the speaker (ghosts, religion etc.).
It was coined during the time when Great Britain was colonizing areas of the globe inhabited by native tribes that practiced mysterious and puzzling rituals which were then called "Mumbo Jumbo", after a supposed idol.
According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary:
- Mumbo Jumbo is a noun and is the name of a grotesque idol said to have been worshipped by some tribes. In its figurative sense, Mumbo Jumbo is an object of senseless veneration or a meaningless ritual.
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