hodgepodge

hodgepodge

See also: hodge-podge

English

Alternative forms

• hodge-podge
• hotchpotch

Etymology

From Middle English hochepoche, a variation of hochepot, from Old French hochepot, from Middle Dutch hutspot (“beef or mutton cut into small pieces and mixed and boiled together in a pot”), from hotsen, hutsen (“to shake; jog; jolt”) + pot (“pot”), equivalent to hotch +‎ pot. Compare German Low German Hüttspott (“hodgepodge”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈhɒdʒˌpɒdʒ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑdʒˌpɑdʒ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

hodgepodge (countable and uncountable, plural hodgepodges)

1. Alternative form of hotchpotch (“miscellaneous collection”)

   His latest sculpture is a hodgepodge of kitchen clutter and scrap glued together. In fact, all his recent pieces have been similar hodgepodges.

   • 1653, Izaak Walton, The Compleat Angler

     Man's life is but vain, for 'tis subject to pain, / And sorrow, and short as a bubble; / 'Tis a hodge-podge of business, and money, and care, / And care, and money, and trouble.

2. Alternative form of hotchpotch (“mixture of ingredients, or form of mutton broth”)

Synonyms

• farrago, hotchpotch, melange, mingle-mangle, mishmash, oddments, odds and ends, omnium-gatherum, ragbag
• See also Thesaurus:hodgepodge

Translations

collection of miscellaneous things; a jumble

Bulgarian: сбирщина (bg) f (sbirština), тюрлюгювеч m (tjurljugjuveč) Catalan: poti-poti m Czech: mišmaš (cs) m Dutch: mikmak (nl) m, mengelmoes (nl) Finnish: sekamelska (fi) French: salmigondis (fr) m, fatras (fr) m German: Sammelsurium (de) n, Mischmasch (de) m, Wust (de) m Italian: pot-pourri m, accozzaglia (it) f, zibaldone (it) m, miscuglio (it) m, pasticcio (it) m, pastrocchio (it) m, guazzabuglio (it) m

Latin: farrāgō f Norwegian: sammensurium n, virvar (no) n Portuguese: mistureba f, miscelânea (pt) f, mistureba f Russian: вся́кая вся́чина (ru) f (vsjákaja vsjáčina), мешани́на (ru) f (mešanína) Scots: pran Spanish: mezcolanza f Swedish: sammelsurium (sv) c, salig blandning Welsh: cybolfa (cy) f

Verb

hodgepodge (third-person singular simple present hodgepodges, present participle hodgepodging, simple past and past participle hodgepodged)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To move or position in an erratic, disorganised manner.