Humbug

The old mode of expre ing approbation of a speech or at the play was by humming, but since the sincerity of this form of applause could not always be relied upon, intermingled as it may have been with suppre ed murmurs of disapproval, the word Hum came to be applied to mock admiration or flattery, intended only to deceive. Hence the saying: “That’s all hum.” The added word Bug is very old, signifying a frightful object, a thing to be shunned. To humbug is to deceive; to prefer candour to humbug is to be proof against flattery.