Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

bamboozle


Listen Later

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 14, 2025 is:

bamboozle • \bam-BOO-zul\  • verb

To bamboozle someone is to deceive, trick, or confuse them.

// The salesperson bamboozled us into getting a more expensive item than we had planned to buy.

See the entry >

Examples:

"'We're not trying to make a perfect film that's, like, got a twist: Oh my God, the coach is a ghost! We're not out to bamboozle audiences or get awards or anything,' [Taika] Waititi told Polygon. The director continued, 'We want to make a nice movie, a true story about a football team, and the only message is, "Be happy and don’t live in the past."'" — Monica Mercuri, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024

Did you know?

In 1710, Irish author Jonathan Swift wrote an article on "the continual Corruption of our English Tongue" in which he complained of "the Choice of certain Words invented by some pretty Fellows." (Note that pretty originally meant "artful, clever.") Among the inventions Swift disliked was bamboozle, which was used by contemporary criminals. Beyond those who favored the word, little is known of its early days, but the word has clearly defied Swift's assertion that "All new affected Modes of Speech ... are the first perishing Parts in any Language." With its first syllable like a sound effect, bamboozle hints at mystification or magic when it is used to mean "to confuse, frustrate, or perplex," as in "The batters were bamboozled by the pitcher's dazzling curveball."



...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Merriam-Webster's Word of the DayBy Merriam-Webster

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

1,189 ratings


More shows like Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

View all
Speak English with ESLPod.com - Learn English Fast by ESLPod.com

Speak English with ESLPod.com - Learn English Fast

2,542 Listeners

TED Talks Daily by TED

TED Talks Daily

11,127 Listeners

Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing by QuickAndDirtyTips.com

Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

2,830 Listeners

Science Quickly by Scientific American

Science Quickly

1,368 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,086 Listeners

Learn English | EnglishClass101.com by EnglishClass101.com

Learn English | EnglishClass101.com

870 Listeners

RealLife English: Learn and Speak Confident, Natural English by RealLife English

RealLife English: Learn and Speak Confident, Natural English

514 Listeners

All Ears English Podcast by Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan

All Ears English Podcast

2,270 Listeners

Daily Easy English Expression Podcast by Coach Shane

Daily Easy English Expression Podcast

833 Listeners

IELTS Energy English 7+ by Lindsay McMahon, Jessica Beck, Aubrey Carter

IELTS Energy English 7+

426 Listeners

Real English Conversations Podcast – English for Global Professionals | Speak Clearly & Confidently at Work by Real English Conversations: Amy Whitney & Curtis Davies - English Podcast

Real English Conversations Podcast – English for Global Professionals | Speak Clearly & Confidently at Work

411 Listeners

Speak English Now Podcast: Learn English | Speak English without grammar. by Georgiana, founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com

Speak English Now Podcast: Learn English | Speak English without grammar.

581 Listeners

American English Podcast by Shana Thompson

American English Podcast

572 Listeners

Confident Business English by Anna Connelly, Anna Connelly.

Confident Business English

145 Listeners

Business English from All Ears English by Lindsay McMahon

Business English from All Ears English

77 Listeners