noun General Slang

Gobbledygook

/ˈɡɒbəldiˌɡʊk/ · noun · informal

Wordy, pompous, meaningless jargon — coined in 1944 by a fed-up congressman sick of bureaucratic babble.

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Definitions

1

Language that is wordy, jargon-laden, and unintelligible, especially the inflated prose of bureaucrats and officials.

“The memo was three pages of pure gobbledygook.”
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2

Technical babble that excludes ordinary readers.

“The contract's gobbledygook needed a lawyer to translate.”
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3

Any nonsense or gibberish that sounds important but means little.

“Strip out the gobbledygook and just tell me the price.”
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Gobbledygook In A Sentence

Cut the gobbledygook and give us the plain version.
His speech was elegant gobbledygook that said nothing at all.
The form was buried in legal gobbledygook nobody could follow.

Origin & Usage

Coined in 1944 by Texas congressman Maury Maverick, who was disgusted with the convoluted jargon of wartime Washington bureaucracy. He said it reminded him of a turkey's gobble, hence 'gobbledygook.'

Variants gobbledegook
Tags #1940s#wartime#swing#vintage#language#bureaucracy

People Also Ask

What does gobbledygook mean?

Pompous, jargon-filled language that's hard to understand and often meaningless.

Where did gobbledygook come from?

It was coined in 1944 by U.S. congressman Maury Maverick, fed up with wartime bureaucratic jargon; he likened it to a turkey's gobble.

Is gobbledygook still used?

Yes — it's a standard English word for bureaucratic or technical babble.

Who coined the word?

Texas representative Maury Maverick, in a 1944 memo banning convoluted language in his office.

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