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Origin and history of flim-flam

flim-flam(n.)

also flimflam, 1530s, a contemptuous echoic construction, perhaps connected to some unrecorded dialectal word from Scandinavian (compare Old Norse flim "a lampoon"). From 1650s as a verb. Related: Flim-flammer.

also from 1530s

Entries linking to flim-flam

flam(n.)

1630s, "sham story, fabrication," also as a verb, "to deceive by flattery;" see flim-flam.

higgledy-piggledy

"confusedly, hurriedly," 1590s, a "vocal gesture" [OED] probably formed from pig and the animal's suggestions of mess and disorder. Reduplications in the h-/p- pattern are common (as in hanky-panky, hocus-pocus, hinch(y)-pinch(y), an obsolete children's game, attested from c. 1600).

Edward Moor, "Suffolk Words and Phrases" (London, 1823), quotes a list of "conceited rhyming words or reduplications" from the 1768 edition of John Ray's "Collection of English Words Not Generally Used," all said to "signify any confusion or mixture;" the list has higgledy-piggledy, hurly-burly, hodge-podge, mingle-mangle, arsy-versy, kim-kam, hub-bub, crawly-mauly, and hab-nab. "To which he might have added," Moor writes, crincum-crankum, crinkle-crankle, flim-flam, fiddle-faddle, gibble-gabble, harum-scarum, helter-skelter, hiccup-suickup, hocus-pocus, hotch-potch, hugger-mugger, humdrum, hum-strum, hurry-scurry, jibber-jabber, prittle-prattle, shilly-shally, tittle-tattle, and topsy-turvy.

Many of these date to the 16th century. Thingum-thangum for an unknown or un-nameable something is from 1670s. Miss Burney (1778) has skimper-scamper "in hurry and confusion." Gay (1728) uses twinkum-twankum as a song refrain "expressing careless jollity" [OED, 1989]. Wiggle-waggle is by 1825, and compare, from French, pell-mell.

whimwham(n.)

also whim-wham, "whimsical device, trifle, plaything, toy," 1520s, a word of unknown origin; perhaps from Scandinavian (compare Old Norse hvima "to let the eyes wander," Norwegian kvima "to flutter"), or an arbitrary native formation (compare flim-flam, jim-jam, and see higgledy-piggledy).

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    trick
    early 15c., "a cheat, a mean ruse," from Old North French trique "trick, deceit, treachery, cheating," from trikier "to deceive, to cheat," variant of Old French trichier "to cheat, trick, deceive," of uncertain origin, probably from Vulgar Latin *triccare, from Latin tricari "be
    fob
    1650s, "men's small waist pocket for valuables," of uncertain origin, probably related to Low German fobke "pocket," High German fuppe "pocket," "a dialectal word used in Livonia" [Klein]. Meaning "chain or ornament attached to a watch carried in the fob" is by 1888, shortened fr
    fox
    Old English fox "a fox," from Proto-Germanic *fuhsaz "fox" (cognates Old Saxon vohs, Middle Dutch and Dutch vos, Old High German fuhs, German Fuchs, Old Norse foa, Gothic fauho), from Proto-Germanic *fuh-, from PIE *puk- "tail" (source also of Sanskrit puccha- "tail"). The bushy
    Fleming
    English Flæming "native or inhabitant of Flanders," from Old Dutch Vlaemingh, Old Frisian Fleming, both from Proto-Germanic *Flam...
    snooker
    billiard-table game, 1889, the game and the word said in an oft-told story to have been invented in India by British officers as a diversion from billiards. The name is perhaps a reference (with regard to the rawness of play by a fellow officer) to British slang snooker "newly jo
    delude
    "deceive, impose upon, mislead the mind or judgment of," c. 1400, from Latin deludere "to play false; to mock, deceive," from de- "down, to one's detriment" (see de-) + ludere "to play" (see ludicrous). Related: Deluded; deluding. Mislead means to lead wrong, whether with or wit
    play
    Middle English pleien, from Old English plegan, plegian "move lightly and quickly, occupy or busy oneself, amuse oneself; engage in active exercise; frolic; engage in children's play; make sport of, mock; perform music." It is from Proto-West Germanic *plegōjanan "occupy oneself
    joke
    1660s, joque, "a jest, something done to excite laughter," from Latin iocus "joke, jest, sport, pastime" (source also of French jeu, Spanish juego, Portuguese jogo, Italian gioco), from Proto-Italic *joko-, from PIE *iok-o- "word, utterance," from root *yek- (1) "to speak" (cogna
    pull
    c. 1300 (mid-13c. in surnames), "to move or try to move forcibly by pulling, to drag forcibly or with effort," from Old English pullian "to pluck off (wool), to draw out," a word of unknown origin, perhaps related to Low German pulen "remove the shell or husk," Frisian pûlje "to

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