1 hornswoggle | Definition of hornswoggle

hornswoggle

verb
horn·​swog·​gle | \ ˈhȯrn-ËŒswä-gÉ™l How to pronounce hornswoggle (audio) \
hornswoggled; hornswoggling\ ˈhȯrn-​ËŒswä-​g(É™-​)liÅ‹ How to pronounce hornswoggling (audio) \; hornswoggles

Definition of hornswoggle

transitive verb

slang
: to trick or deceive (someone) : bamboozle, hoax … trying to avoid getting hornswoggled by advertising claims …— Jennifer Rude Klett often used with into or out of By the end of the call, Santillo had allegedly hornswoggled Olson into parting with her life savings …— Gary CraigIf you want to know what hell can really do in the way of furies, look for the chap who has been hornswoggled into taking a long and unnecessary bicycle ride in the dark without a lamp.— P. G. WodehouseHe also saw his mother get hornswoggled out of $500—seven weeks' salary, the family's entire savings—by a slick traveling vacuum salesman.— Kim Lachance Shandrow

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Examples of hornswoggle in a Sentence

I think we've been hornswoggled by that carnival barker.

First Known Use of hornswoggle

1877, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for hornswoggle

origin unknown

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More from Merriam-Webster on hornswoggle

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with hornswoggle

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for hornswoggle