Dr. Techie - 16 April 2008 10:10 AM

Since the word “humbuggery” does not appear in either of the two online texts of A Christmas Carol that I searched, I would say that the story is, indeed, false.

Does it exist at all?

Searching Project Gutenberg finds 110 hits.  To list a few: Mark Twain uses it in both Innocents Abroad and Life on the Mississippi.  It also appears in The Writings of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 4 - The Lincoln-Douglas Debates II and in the Katharine Prescott Wormeley translation of Honore de Balzac’s “Beatrix”.

It’s also in the OED:

1831 J. MORISON in Morisoniana 386 The Jennerian vaccinic scheme.. should counteract the virulence.. which the past inoculating humbuggery had failed to effect. 1892 Voice (N.Y.) 25 Feb., Hypocrisy and humbuggery are openly declared to be the only traits that entitle a man to political support.

May be relevant: in Aboriginal English used in Australia’s Northern Territory, “humbug” can mean aggressively beg, but also sodomize.

e.g.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22483795-601,00.html

Myridon - 16 April 2008 08:20 AM

flynn999 - 15 April 2008 02:59 AM

Bugger isn’t particularly offensive in the UK either - though its not polite usage. Most Brits are probably aware of the actual meaning in the backs of their minds but it gets used as a mild curse usually. You could say, for example, “he’s an old bugger he is” and just mean the person was awkward and annoying.

So in “Sod that!”, “Bugger me”, “Bugger me with a pitch fork”, “Bugger me sideways”, etc, etc, no one is thinking sod or bugger is anything remotely sexual? ;-)

Not in ‘sod that’ really, with the others as I said, it’d be in the backs of peoples’ minds but those comments are jokey rather than rude.