humbug 686
of shock, disapproval etc: This newspaper is always talking about the decline of moral standards, but that's sheer humbug because it's full of pornographic pictures. 2 [U] old-fash nonsense 3 [C] old-fash a deceitful person who pretends to be something he/she is not; IMPOSTOR 4 [C] BrE a sweet made of hard boiled sugar and usually tasting of MINT
humbug² interj nonsense
hum·ding·er /hʌmˈdɪŋər/ n infml a wonderful person or thing
hum·drum /ˈhʌmdrm/ adj too ordinary; without variety or change; MONOTONOUS: our humdrum lives
Hume, Cardinal Basil /hju:m/ (1923–99) a British priest who, in 1976, became ARCHBISHOP of WESTMINSTER and the leader of the Roman Catholic religion in England and Wales
Hume, David (1711–76) a Scottish writer on PHILOSOPHY and history, known for A Treatise of Human Nature and for his History of England. He believed in EMPIRICISM, the idea that human knowledge comes only from what we see and feel, and his ideas had great influence.
Hume, John 1939-) a politician from NORTHERN IRELAND, who was the leader of the SDLP (=Social Democratic Labour Party) from 1979 to 2001, and who was a member of the UK parliament. He is known for trying to bring an end to violence in Northern Ireland, and trying to start peace talks between Catholics and Protestants. In 1998 he shared the Nobel Prize for Peace with David TRIMBLE.
hu·mer·us /ˈhju:mərəs/ n tech the long bone in the top half of the arm
hu·mid /ˈhju:mɪd/ adj (of air and weather) containing a lot of water VAPOUR; DAMP: a humid day/climate → compare DRY¹; see DAMP (USAGE)
hu·mid·i·fy /hju:ˈmɪdɪfaɪ/ v [T] to make humid —fier n
hu·mid·i·ty /hju:ˈmɪdɪti/ n [U] the (amount of) water VAPOUR contained in the air: It's not the heat but the humidity that makes it so uncomfortable today.
hu·mil·i·ate /hju:ˈmɪlieɪt/ v [T] to cause to feel ashamed or to lose the respect of others: It was so humiliating to be corrected by the head teacher in front of the whole school.
—ation /hju:ˌmɪliˈeɪʃən/ n [C,U]
hu·mil·i·ty /hju:ˈmɪlɪti/ n [U] the quality of being HUMBLE; lack of pride
hum·ming·bird /ˈhʌmɪŋbɜːd||-bɜːrd/ n a very small bird whose wings beat very fast and make a humming noise (HUM)
hum·mock /ˈhʌmɒk/ n a very small hill; HILLOCK
hum·mus, houmous, houmus, humus /ˈhʊmʊs, ˈhu:-/ n [U] a thick mixture made mainly from CHICKPEAS (=a kind of vegetable), eaten as food especially in Greece and the Middle East
hu·mon·gous also humungous BrE /hju:ˈmʌŋgəs/ adj infml very big → compare ENORMOUS rich people living in humongous houses
hu·mor·ist /ˈhju:mərɪst||ˈhju:-, ˈju:-/ n a person who makes jokes, especially in writing
hu·mor·ous /ˈhju:mərəs||ˈhju:-, ˈju:-/ adj funny; that makes people laugh: a humorous play/remark/character in a play —ly adv
hu·mour¹ BrE || humor AmE /ˈhju:mər||ˈhju:-, ˈju:-/ n 1 [U] (the ability to understand and enjoy) what is funny and makes people laugh: He hasn't got much of a sense of humour. 2 [U] the quality of causing amusement: a story full of humour | She couldn't see the humour in the situation. 3 [C usually sing.] old-fash infml a state of mind; MOOD: in a good humour 4 [C] any of four liquids which were formerly thought to be present in the body in varying degrees, and to influence the character 5 out of humour old-fash infml in a bad temper; MOODY 6 -humoured BrE || -humored AmE /hju:məd||hju:mərd, ju:-/ having the stated condition of mind: good-humoured | ill-humoured → see also BLACK HUMOUR
humour² BrE || humor AmE — v [T] to accept the wishes, especially foolish or unreasonable wishes, of (someone) especially in order to keep them happy or prevent them from complaining
hump¹ /hʌmp/ n 1 [C] a large lump or round part which stands out noticeably: There's a hump in the road to slow
down the traffic. 2 [C] a lump on the back, especially a) of a CAMEL b) of a HUNCHBACK 3 [the] BrE infml a feeling of bad temper or dislike of life in general: It's giving me the hump, all this bad weather! 4 over the hump past the worst part
hump² v 1 [T+obj+adv/prep] BrE infml to carry (something heavy), especially with difficulty: We humped the cupboard upstairs. | I'm tired of humping all this luggage around. 2 [I;T] taboo slang to have sex (with)
hump·back /ˈhʌmpbæk/ n a back with a hump; HUNCHBACK
—backed adj
,humpbacked ˈbridge n especially BrE a short sharp rise and fall in the surface of a road as it goes over a bridge
humph, h'm /hʌmf, hmh, hm/ interj (a sound made with the lips closed to express a feeling of doubt or dissatisfaction with something said or done)
Humphrey, Sir → see SIR HUMPHREY
Hum·phries, Bar·ry /ˈhʌmfriz, ˈbæri/ (1931–) an Australian COMEDIAN who appears on television and in the theatre as characters that he has invented, and is known especially for the character of Dame Edna Everage
Hum·phrys, John /ˈhʌmfrɪz/ (1943–) a British JOURNALIST and broadcaster who is known for asking politicians difficult questions in a very direct way when he INTERVIEWS them. He is best known for working on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 and has presented many CURRENT AFFAIRS programmes on both radio and television.
Hump·ty Dump·ty /ˌhʌmpti ˈdʌmpti/ a character in a NURSERY RHYME (=an old song or poem for young children) and in the book THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS by Lewis CARROLL, who is like a large egg in shape:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King's horses and all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
hu·mus¹ /ˈhju:məs/ n [U] rich soil made of decayed plants, leaves etc
humus² /ˈhumus, ˈhu:-/ n HUMMUS
Hun /hʌn/ n 1 the Huns [P] a group of NOMADIC people from Mongolia who entered Europe in the 4th century AD and gradually took control over a large part of central and eastern Europe. Their most famous leader was Attila, and they are thought of as being cruel and enjoying war and fighting. 2 [C] a member of this people 3 the Hun [P] slang an insulting word for German people, used especially during World War I
hunch¹ /hʌntʃ/ n an idea based on feeling rather than on reason or facts: 'How did you know that horse was going to win?' 'It was just a hunch.' 1 [+(that)] I have a hunch that she didn't really want to go.
hunch² v [T(UP)] to pull (all or part of the body) into a rounded shape: sitting hunched up in a corner
hunch·back /ˈhʌntʃbæk/ n (a person who has) a back that sticks out in a large rounded lump —backed adj
,Hunchback of ,Notre 'Dame, The (1831) a novel by Victor HUGO about a kind but ugly HUNCHBACK.(=someone whose back has a large raised part on it) called QUASIMODO, who rings bells in the CATHEDRAL of Notre Dame in Paris in the 15th century. He secretly loves a beautiful woman called Esmeralda, and when she is wrongly punished for being a murderer, he tries to save her. The book has been made into several famous films including a full-length CARTOON.
hun·dred /ˈhʌndrəd/ determiner, n, pron pl. -dred or -dreds (the number) 100: a hundred years | two hundred miles | (infml) I've been there hundreds of times. (=every often) → see TABLE 1
,hundreds and 'thousands BrE || nonpareil AmE — n [P] small, thin pieces of coloured sugar used to decorate cakes and other food which is to be eaten by children
hun·dredth /ˈhʌndrədθ/ determiner, n, pron, adv. 100th → see TABLE 1
hun·dred·weight /ˈhʌndrədweɪt/ written abbrev. cwt n -weight a measure of weight → see TABLE 2
,Hundred ,Years 'War, the a series of wars between England and France from 1337–1453, when the English kings tried to keep control of land which they ruled in France. The French finally won, and forced the English to leave France.