from
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
hugger-mugger
adv 1: in secrecy; "they did it all hugger-mugger"
adj 1: in utter disorder; "a disorderly pile of clothes" [syn:
{disorderly}, {higgledy-piggledy}, {hugger-mugger},
{jumbled}, {topsy-turvy}]
2: conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods;
"clandestine intelligence operations"; "cloak-and-dagger
activities behind enemy lines"; "hole-and-corner intrigue";
"secret missions"; "a secret agent"; "secret sales of arms";
"surreptitious mobilization of troops"; "an undercover
investigation"; "underground resistance" [syn: {clandestine},
{cloak-and-dagger}, {hole-and-corner(a)}, {hugger-mugger},
{hush-hush}, {secret}, {surreptitious}, {undercover},
{underground}]
n 1: a state of confusion; "he engaged in the hugger-mugger of
international finance"
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Hugger-mugger \Hug"ger-mug`ger\, n. [Scot. huggrie-muggrie;
Prov. E. hugger to lie in ambush, mug mist, muggard sullen.]
1. Privacy; secrecy. Commonly in the phrase in hugger-mugger,
with haste and secrecy. [Archaic]
[1913 Webster]
Many things have been done in hugger-mugger.
--Fuller.
[1913 Webster]
2. Confusion; disorder.
[PJC]