jiggery-pokery

[ jig-uh-ree-poh-kuh-ree ]

noun

, Chiefly British.

1. trickery, hocus-pocus; fraud; humbug.
2. sly, underhanded action.
3. manipulation:

   After a little jiggery-pokery, the engine started.

jiggery-pokery

/ ˈdʒɪɡərɪˈpəʊkərɪ /

noun

1. informal.
   dishonest or deceitful behaviour or business; trickery

Word History and Origins

Origin of jiggery-pokery¹

1890–95; alteration of joukery-pawkery. See jouk, pawky, -ery

Word History and Origins

Origin of jiggery-pokery¹

C19: from Scottish dialect joukery-pawkery

Example Sentences

In the scathing dissent, Scalia also said the majority decision was “interpretive jiggery-pokery,” a “defense of the indefensible” and “pure applesauce.”

From Washington Post

More plausible accounts of jiggery-pokery came from opposition members of local election commissions, including one in the Moscow district of Ramenki, who reported a suspicious surge in undocumented voting from home.

From New York Times

Roper said: “He’s got to play the game that’s going about. It’s reflective of the state of politics and the jiggery-pokery that’s been done.”

From The Guardian

But his style was different, beholden to an overarching legal philosophy, and also more flamboyant, scathing, and dependent on eccentric word choices: “argle-bargle,” “jiggery-pokery.”

From The New Yorker

The OCC responded to American Banker’s report by releasing enough information to suggest that some banks were guilty of at least minor jiggery-pokery.

From Economist