My dearest daughter suggested this word of the week, because she thought it was such a fun word to say. 😉
So, bamboozle.
This will be rather quick, because etymologists aren’t entirely sure where it came from, LOL. What they can tell you for certain is that it’s been both a noun and a verb first recorded in 1703, bearing the same meaning that it does today.
But where did it come from? That’s a bit of a mystery. It could be from the Scottish bombaze, which means “confound or perplex.” But it could also be from the French embabouiner, which means “to make a fool of.” (Literally, “baboon.”)
Either way, this “cheat, swindle” word is a lot of fun to say. 😉


Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.
I can sure see it meaning either of those. 🙂
We should strive to bring back some of these 'old-fashioned' words into our vocabulary. Liven it up a bit. Bravo to Xoe for thinking of this one!