712:
If the word gibberish was, as has been asserted, first applied to the language of the
Gipsies, it may have been derived either from "Gip," the nickname for Gipsy, with ish or rish appended as in Engl-ish, I-rish, or from the Rommany word jib signifying a language. . . . Writers on such subjects err,
713:
almost without an exception, in insisting on one accurately defined and singly derived source for every word, when perhaps three or four have combined to form it. . . . Gibberish may have come from the Gipsy, and at the same time owe something to gabble, jabber, and the old Norse or
Icelandic gifra.
328:, characterized professional gobbledygook as sloppy jargon intended to confuse nonspecialists: "'Gobbledygook' may indicate a failure to think clearly, a contempt for one's clients, or more probably a mixture of both. A system that can't or won't communicate is not a safe basis for a democracy."
895:
This remark was apparently repeated in all the unabridged versions of
Johnson's Dictionary until 1818, when H. J. Todd published his revised edition of the work. Under the entry for gibberish, Todd records 'Dr. Johnson's' comments on the word's etymology and then offers evidence differing from
295:
explained tax law revisions in an address to the nation with the word, May 28, 1985, saying that "most didn’t improve the system; they made it more like
Washington itself: Complicated, unfair, cluttered with gobbledygook and loopholes, designed for those with the power and influence to hire
248:, a former congressman from Texas and former mayor of San Antonio. When Maverick was chairman of the Smaller War Plants Corporation during World War II, he sent a memorandum that said: "Be short and use plain English. ... Stay off gobbledygook language." Maverick defined
1173:
People asked me how I got the word. I do not know. It must have come in a vision. Perhaps I was thinking of the old bearded turkey gobbler back in Texas who was always gobbledygobbling and strutting with ridiculous pomposity. At the end of his gobble there was a sort of
399:, making it difficult for those outside the field to understand. Speakers or writers of officialese or legalese may recognize that it is confusing or even meaningless to outsiders, but view its use as appropriate within their organization or group.
911:
A Glossary of
Obscure Words and Phrases in the Writings of Shakspeare and his contemporaries Traced Etymologically to the ancient language of the British people as spoken before the irruption of the Danes and
146:
word meaning "language" or "tongue". To non-speakers, the Anglo-Romany dialect could sound like
English mixed with nonsense words, and if those seemingly nonsensical words are referred to as
773:
284:
describing a situation to Nixon as "... a bunch of gobbledygook. But out of the gobbledygook comes a very clear thing: You can't trust the government; you can't believe what they say."
269:
The term "gobbledygook" has a long history of use in politics to deride deliberately obscure statements and complicated but ineffective explanations. The following are a few examples:
166:, published in 1755, wrote that the word gibberish "is probably derived from the chymical cant, and originally implied the jargon of Geber and his tribe." The theory was that
217:("back talk, backward chat"). The latter Irish etymology was suggested by Daniel Cassidy, whose work has been criticised by linguists and scholars. The terms
789:
1395:
1361:
1229:
1054:
951:
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94:". The implication is that the criticized expression or proposition lacks substance or congruence, as opposed to being a differing view.
1187:
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998:
783:
301:
652:
734:
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395:, and others involved with the law. The language used in these fields may contain complex sentences and specialized jargon or
308:
dismissed quantitative sociological reasoning as "gobbledygook" in 2017, when arguing against using any mathematical test for
1334:
289:
878:
1157:
543:
1475:
317:
1095:
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86:
to denigrate or tar ideas or opinions the user disagrees with or finds irksome, a rough equivalent of "nonsense", "
31:
252:
as "talk or writing which is long, pompous, vague, involved, usually with
Latinized words." The allusion was to a
117:
is uncertain. The term was first seen in
English in the early 16th century. It is generally thought to be an
1490:
1284:
471:
350:
506:
1264:
353:" in gibberish as an intentional mimic of the sound of English to those who are not fluent in the language.
277:
175:
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Using gibberish whilst acting can be used as an improvisation exercise in theatre arts education.
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Subject: Lengthy memoranda and gobbledygook language. Be short and use plain
English.
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406:, a slang term referring to confusing or a generally unintelligible use of jargon.
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Linguistic
Communications: Working Papers of the Linguistic Society of Australia
481:
431:
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139:
83:
1446:
1096:"Memorandum from Maury Maverick to Everybody in Smaller War Plants Corporation"
559:
544:"A systematic examination of gibberish in a multilingual schizophrenic patient"
1321:
Improvisation for the Theater: A handbook of teaching and directing techniques
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521:
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68:
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110:
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Laycock, D. (1972). "Towards a typology of ludlings, or play-languages".
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191:
1325:(3rd ed.). Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press. p.
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256:, "always gobbledygobbling and strutting with ridiculous pomposity."
201:
A discredited alternative theory asserts that it is derived from the
187:
76:
940:
How the Irish Invented Slang: The secret language of the crossroads
612:
Stevenson, Angus; Lindberg, Christine A. (2010). "jibber-jabber".
516:
170:
came from the name of a famous 8th century Muslim alchemist,
134:
1102:. US National Archives and Records Administration. Archived from
725:
Seaborg, Glenn T. (March 1980). "Our heritage of the elements".
496:
64:
775:
It's a Wonderful Word: The Real Origins of Our Favourite Words
1387:
Narrating the Organization: Dramas of Institutional Identity
387:
is a closely related concept, referring to language used by
37:"Gobbledigook" redirects here. For the Sigur Rós song, see
915:. S. Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington. pp. 183–184
154:
could be derived as a descriptor for nonsensical speech.
190:
and allegorical coded language used by Jabir and other
1455:
101:
refers to rapid talk that is difficult to understand.
55:, is a speech or a text that is (or appears to be)
1318:
1213:
186:was a reference to the incomprehensible technical
672:(online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2013.
643:. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp.
1216:Strange Days Indeed: The Golden Age of Paranoia
1456:The Online Dictionary of Language Terminology
8:
936:"A Dictionary of Irish-American Vernacular"
877:Kolb, Gwin J.; Demaria, Robert Jr. (1998).
710:. New York: Hurd and Houghton. p. 88.
967:Brady, Michael Patrick (17 October 2007).
836:Amr, Samir S.; Tbakhi, Abdelghani (2007).
727:Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B
225:are certainly Irish words, but the phrase
121:imitative of speech, similar to the words
1129:"Gobbledygook? Lay off it, Maverick says"
896:Johnson's surmise and none supporting it.
861:
542:Robertson, J.P.S.; Shamsie, S.J. (1959).
879:"Dr. Johnson's etymology of 'gibberish'"
1265:"The Supreme Court is allergic to math"
640:The Oxford Dictionary of Word Histories
534:
707:The English Gipsies and Their Language
79:that seems nonsensical to outsiders.
7:
1072:Maverick and Gobbledygook (minicast)
296:high-priced legal and tax advisers."
163:A Dictionary of the English Language
1246:"Simpson's contemporary quotations"
213:("mouth") or from the Irish phrase
1263:Roeder, Oliver (17 October 2017).
1023:Zwicky, Arnold (9 November 2007).
999:"Humdinger of a Bad Irish Scholar"
997:Barrett, Grant (9 November 2007).
302:Supreme Court of the United States
233:exists as a loan-word in Irish as
25:
1447:A statistical gibberish generator
1158:"The case against 'Gobbledygook'"
1094:Maverick, Maury (24 March 1944).
1186:Gartner, Michael (26 May 1985).
1390:. University of Chicago Press.
1156:Maverick, Maury (21 May 1944).
810:Quinion, Michael (3 Oct 2015).
778:. London, UK: Random House UK.
616:. Oxford University Press USA.
132:It may originate from the word
82:"Gibberish" is also used as an
1353:Garner on Language and Writing
1291:. October 2007. Archived from
1248:. Bartleby.com. Archived from
614:New Oxford American Dictionary
349:wrote and performed the song "
1:
1384:Czarniawska, Barbara (1997).
1100:The National Archives Catalog
1049:. An Gúm. 1992. p. 630.
684:"Online Etymology Dictionary"
229:does not exist, and the word
198:rejected that origin theory.
27:Nonsensical speech or writing
1461:Gibberish - World Wide Words
1356:. American Bar Association.
1025:"Gullibility in high places"
971:How the Irish Invented Slang
1220:. Public Affairs. pp.
704:Leland, Charles G. (1873).
637:Chantrell, Glynnis (2002).
345:The Italian musical artist
280:from June 14, 1971, showed
129:(to speak inarticulately).
1517:
560:10.1177/002383095900200102
379:refer to language used by
360:
36:
32:Gibberish (disambiguation)
29:
1350:Garner, Bryan A. (2009).
1075:(audio). A Way with Words
942:. CounterPunch. pp.
885:. Oxford University Press
854:10.5144/0256-4947.2007.53
670:Oxford English Dictionary
472:Prisencolinensinainciusol
351:Prisencolinensinainciusol
322:National Consumer Council
320:, former chairman to the
194:. After 1818, editors of
934:Cassidy, Daniel (2007).
908:Mackay, Charles (1887).
842:Annals of Saudi Medicine
507:Stanley Unwin (comedian)
1481:16th-century neologisms
1212:Wheen, Francis (2010).
1047:Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla
125:(to talk rapidly) and
1285:"Contemporary Quotes"
772:Jack, Albert (2011).
361:Further information:
357:Other terms and usage
90:", "balderdash", or "
452:Mumbo jumbo (phrase)
196:Johnson's Dictionary
63:that are not actual
30:For other uses, see
1252:on 7 December 2008.
743:1980MTB....11....5S
574:on February 2, 2013
548:Language and Speech
39:Gobbledigook (song)
1476:Gibberish language
1162:The New York Times
838:"Jabir ibn Hayyan"
751:10.1007/bf02657166
1397:978-0-226-13229-7
1363:978-1-61632-679-1
1231:978-0-00-744120-4
1192:Milwaukee Journal
1056:978-1-85791-037-7
953:978-1-904859-60-4
623:978-0-19-539288-3
502:Spin (propaganda)
347:Adriano Celentano
174:, whose name was
97:The related word
59:: ranging across
16:(Redirected from
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570:. Archived from
554:(1). Sage: 1–8.
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383:or authorities.
278:Oval Office tape
172:Jābir ibn Hayyān
75:and specialized
47:, also known as
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1295:on 23 July 2012
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1137:. 31 March 1944
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138:, which is the
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1188:"Gobbledygood"
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246:Maury Maverick
244:was coined by
158:Samuel Johnson
150:then the term
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1426:. Retrieved
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848:(1): 52–53.
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487:Scat singing
477:Onomatopoeia
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306:John Roberts
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265:Gobbledygook
250:gobbledygook
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119:onomatopoeia
114:
108:
98:
96:
81:
53:gobbledygook
52:
48:
44:
43:
18:Gobbledegook
1486:Terminology
1419:"bafflegab"
1403:11 February
1369:11 February
812:"Gibberish"
482:Lorem ipsum
432:Glossolalia
427:Double-talk
393:legislators
373:officialese
363:Officialese
227:geab ar ais
215:Geab ar ais
140:Angloromani
84:imprecation
69:pseudowords
1470:Categories
1428:4 February
1336:0810140098
1299:4 February
1289:Chat11.com
1197:4 February
1167:20 January
1141:4 February
1110:21 January
1079:28 January
1009:2014-03-24
977:PopMatters
919:5 February
821:20 January
796:2015-06-28
689:6 February
578:4 February
529:References
522:Word salad
371:The terms
192:alchemists
1449:based on
759:137614510
601:: 61–113.
568:142914934
467:Pig Latin
447:Minionese
437:Grammelot
397:buzzwords
381:officials
333:In acting
290:President
240:The term
231:gibberish
184:gibberish
176:Latinized
168:gibberish
152:gibberish
115:gibberish
111:etymology
105:Etymology
45:Gibberish
1501:Nonsense
1317:(1999).
1031:24 March
982:24 March
737:: 5–19.
457:Nonsense
417:Babbling
410:See also
385:Legalese
367:Legalese
304:justice
223:geabaire
182:. Thus,
92:claptrap
88:folderol
57:nonsense
944:155–156
889:15 July
863:6077026
739:Bibcode
492:Simlish
404:synonym
389:lawyers
341:In song
235:gibiris
1496:Jargon
1394:
1360:
1333:
1228:
1053:
950:
912:Saxons
860:
782:
757:
651:
620:
566:
442:Jargon
254:turkey
188:jargon
127:gibber
123:jabber
77:jargon
1222:11–12
1174:gook.
755:S2CID
733:(1).
564:S2CID
517:Walla
205:word
203:Irish
180:Geber
160:, in
65:words
1430:2014
1405:2014
1392:ISBN
1371:2014
1358:ISBN
1331:ISBN
1301:2014
1226:ISBN
1199:2014
1169:2016
1143:2014
1112:2016
1081:2017
1051:ISBN
1033:2014
984:2014
948:ISBN
921:2014
891:2021
823:2016
780:ISBN
691:2014
649:ISBN
618:ISBN
580:2014
497:SMOG
365:and
221:and
219:geab
109:The
1327:112
858:PMC
850:doi
747:doi
645:231
556:doi
375:or
324:of
276:'s
260:Use
211:gab
209:or
207:gob
178:as
148:jib
135:jib
113:of
51:or
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