To trick, confuse, or deceive someone with lies or clever words; to mislead someone so thoroughly they don't understand what's happening.
Possibly from Dutch 'bamboozelen' or a variant of earlier slang terms, though the exact origin is uncertain. First appeared in English around 1700 in writings by Jonathan Swift and other satirists, where it meant to trick or confuse through deliberate obscurity.
Nobody is completely sure where 'bamboozle' came from, which is fitting because the word itself means to confuse people—it's like the word is playing a trick on us by not revealing its own origin! Linguists love bamboozle because it's been in use for over 300 years but its mysterious etymology keeps it interesting.
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