as in deception
the use of clever underhanded actions to achieve an end
the judge ordered the corporation to hand over all records, with no jiggery-pokery about unexpected problems and missing information
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Recent Examples of jiggery-pokery
The point is that the Constitution says that Congress has the sole power to decide what the country spends on, and with a bit of jiggery-pokery, this court let all the air out of those words.
—
Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Aug. 2025
Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jiggery-pokery
Noun
-
However genuine their connection, their paths were forged in deception and self-loathing.—
Andy Andersen,
Vulture,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Their commitment to the deception has no limit.—
Matt Cabral,
Entertainment Weekly,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Now, there is a little bit of trickery being employed here.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
16 Apr. 2026
-
The sets and cinematic trickery of the scenes between regular-size humans and their 6-in.—
Rebecca Aizin,
PEOPLE,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Just typical power-grabbing Idaho lawmaker chicanery, right?—
Michael Deeds,
Idaho Statesman,
16 Apr. 2026
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In light of the chicanery that happens in the episode, the phrase also suggests a bit of victim-blaming for the harvesting of personal data.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In the Television Academy's Miami Vice oral history, Johnson revealed the show’s cutting-edge content was made possible by simple subterfuge.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
13 Apr. 2026
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The trio went to great lengths to perpetrate the subterfuge, the indictment claims, including using hair dryers to remove packaging labels that were then reaffixed to thousands of fake replica servers.—
Amanda Gerut,
Fortune,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Inflamed by Ratansen’s adviser’s account of Padmavati’s beauty, Alauddin Khalji storms the fortress by treachery rather than valor.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
9 Apr. 2026
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But Bateman's treachery also had a distinctly silly side.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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One result of the existing system is that vote tabulations in California go on for weeks, something that frustrates the public and the media, and, in the current atmosphere, helps fuel suspicion of electoral skullduggery.—
Michael Smolens,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 Mar. 2026
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The selection was announced by SMS to Iranians, among whom Mojtaba Khamenei has long had a reputation for skullduggery and power plays.—
Kay Armin Serjoie,
Time,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Other throwaways made it on the list thanks to Bieber’s gamesmanship or Billboard’s methodological quirks.—
Mikael Wood,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2026
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Maybe Brown kept the pick-and-rolls, the dribble hand-offs, the give-and-go actions tucked as a form of gamesmanship so as to not tip his hand entering the playoffs.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Of course, the retort is that this would be irritating and exasperating to be continually deluged with alerts about AI deceptiveness.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
24 Aug. 2025
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Beyond the deceptiveness of the narrow material view, spiritual light and hope are always present to be found and felt.—
Sue Brightman,
Christian Science Monitor,
3 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Jiggery-pokery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jiggery-pokery. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
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