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Today's Words: Hugger-Mugger, Umlaut and Salmagundi

Hugger-Mugger (huhg-er-muhg-er) adjective secret or clandestine. More about Hugger-Mugger First recorded in 1520–30. An earlier form was hucker-mucker, a rhyming compound based on mucker. Mucker comes from the Middle English word mokeren, “to hoard.” Hugger-mugger can be a noun and verb, too. Examples of Hugger-Mugger The spy communicated with her handler in a hugger-mugger manner to avoid detection. The meeting was very hugger-mugger, with everyone whispering and looking over their shoulders. Umlaut (oom-lout) noun a mark placed over a vowel to indicate a vowel sound different from that of the letter without it, especially as so used in German. More about Umlaut First recorded around 1835–45. Comes from German, equivalent to um-, “about, around” and Laut, “sound.” Examples of Umalut When learning to spell in German, it’s important to pay attention to the umlauts placed on vowels. The word über in German contains an umlaut over the letter u. Salmagundi (sal-muh-guhn-dee) noun any mixtu