gobbledygook

English

Alternative forms

gobbledegook; gobblygook, garbley gook, gobbly-gook

Etymology

First attested in a memo by US Representative (Texas) Maury Maverick dated March 30, 1944, banning "gobbledygook language". Apparently coined in imitation of the sounds made by a turkey.

Mr. Maury Maverick was, incidentally, the grandson of lawyer and politician Samuel Maverick, whose behaviour regarding his cattle inspired the term maverick ("offbeat").

Pronunciation

Audio (US) (file)

Noun

gobbledygook (usually uncountable, plural gobbledygooks)

(informal) Nonsense; meaningless or encrypted language.
(informal) Something written in an overly complex, incoherent, or incomprehensible manner.

Synonyms

See also Thesaurus:nonsense

Translations

Nonsense; meaningless or encrypted language.

Chinese:
Mandarin: 天書 (zh) (tiānshū)
Danish: bavl n, kaudervælsk (da) n, sludder n, vrøvl n
Dutch: koeterwaals (nl) n
Esperanto: galimatio
Finnish: liirumlaarum (fi), diibadaaba (fi), hölynpöly (fi)
French: charabia (fr) m, gloubi-boulga (fr) m
German: Geschwafel (de) n, Kauderwelsch (de) n
Italian: fesserie f pl, sciocchezze (it) f pl, supercazzola (it), idiozie (it) f pl
Japanese: 珍紛漢紛 (chinpunkanpun)
Maori: reo kihi
Norwegian:
Bokmål: tullprat m, vrøvl (no) n
Nynorsk: kaudervelsk m, galimatias n
Polish: bełkot (pl) m
Portuguese: algaravia (pt) f
Russian: галиматья́ (ru) f (galimatʹjá)
Serbo-Croatian: galimatijas (sh) m, lupetanje (sh) n
Swedish: gallimatias (sv), rappakalja (sv), dravel (sv), struntprat (sv), goja (sv), strunt (sv)

Something written or said in an overly complex, incoherent, or incomprehensible manner.

Finnish: kapulakieli (fi)
French: galimatias (fr) m
German: Fachchinesisch (de) n, geschwollenes Zeug n (not idiomatic), aufgeblasenes Gesülze n (not idiomatic)
Italian: burocratese (it)
Maori: reo kihi
Swedish: fikonspråk (sv), högtravande kanslistil