the exhibit was a hodgepodge of mediocre art, bad art, and really bad art
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This braised chicken calls for orange wine, but a hodgepodge of white plus rosé would be fine, even great.—Emma Laperruque, Bon Appetit Magazine, 15 June 2026 The demonstration, which had been previously organized by a hodgepodge of activist groups after weeks of negotiations with local authorities, was otherwise peaceful — with environmentalists, women’s rights advocates, supporters of Palestinians and foes of imperialism, fascism and capitalism.—Jamey Keaten, Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2026 Millions of Americans are currently injecting unapproved chemicals like peptides promoted by a hodgepodge of wellness influencers and celebrity podcasters.—Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026 What’s left is a hodgepodge of youngsters that could soon be stars and older players who have yet to win titles on the sport’s biggest stages.—Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 1 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for hodgepodge
an altered form of hotchpotch, from Middle English hochepot "mixed stew," derived from early French hochepot (same meaning), from hochier "to shake" and pot "pot, container"
Word Origin
Hodgepodge and its older form hotchpotch are part of a group of words that rhyme all by themselves. Hobnob and willy-nilly are others. In the case of hodgepodge and hotchpotch, the rhyme is not an accident. These words came to English from early French in the form hochepot. The spelling was changed to make the second half of the word rhyme with the first. In French hochepot was a stew of many foods cooked together in a pot. Perhaps the pot was shaken instead of stirred since hochepot was formed from hochier, meaning "to shake," and pot, which had the same meaning in early French as it does in English now. Before long hotchpotch and hodgepodge were used not just for a mixture of foods cooking in a pot but for any mixture of different things.