Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hornswoggle

/ˈhɔɹn.swɑ.ɡəl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.70 in modern English

Syllables
horn-swog-gle
IPA
/ˈhɔɹn.swɑ.ɡəl/
19
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To deceive or trick.

Slang; Transitive verb

noun

nonsense; humbug

Slang

Example Sentences

Etymology

Unknown, 1829 US, jocular coinage like contemporary absquatulate. Presumably horns + waggle with humorous faux ablaut or combination with wobble (compare later woggle, 1923), perhaps inspired by lassoed steers trying to escape by moving their head.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈhɔɹn.swɑ.ɡəl/
  • British English: /ˈhɔːn.swɒɡ.əl/

Usage

Inflected Forms

hornswoggles (present, singular) hornswoggling (participle, present) hornswoggled (participle, past) hornswoggled (past)

Derived Forms

hornswoggler

Frequently Paired Words

woggle

Synonyms

deceive dupe trick victimize swindle rook goldbrick nobble diddle bunco defraud scam

Questions

How do you pronounce hornswoggle?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈhɔɹn.swɑ.ɡəl/.
What does hornswoggle mean?
To deceive or trick.
Where does hornswoggle come from?
Unknown, 1829 US, jocular coinage like contemporary absquatulate. Presumably horns + waggle with humorous faux ablaut or combination with wobble (compare later woggle, 1923), perhaps inspired by lassoed steers trying to escape by moving their head.

How to pronounce hornswoggle

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “hornswoggle”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈhɔɹn.swɑ.ɡəl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “hornswoggle”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “hornswoggle” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.