jiggery-pokery
/ˌdʒɪɡ(ə)rɪˈpəʊk(ə)ri
/noun [mass noun] informal, chiefly British
Deceitful or dishonest behaviour: the army’s intervention was disguised by constitutional jiggery-pokery...
- But this bit of scientific jiggery-pokery leaves my mind in an even more boggled state than usual.
- However, they only managed to conjure this up by jiggery-pokery.
- Why does that require ‘work’, unless there's some jiggery-pokery going on to ensure that the chart doesn't actually reflect the real numbers?
Origin
Late 19th century: probably a variant of Scots joukery-pawkery, from jouk.
This late 19th-century expression means ‘deceitful or dishonest behaviour’. It is probably a variant of Scots joukery-pawkery, from jouk ‘to skulk’.