Humbug's an old term meaning 'hoax' or 'jest'. While the term was first described in 1751 as student slang, its etymology's unknown. Its present meaning as an exclamation's closer to 'nonsense' or 'gibberish', while as a noun, a humbug refers to a fraud or impostor, implying an element of unjustified publicity and spectacle. The term's also used for certain types of candy. In modern usage, the word's probably most associated with Ebenezer Scrooge, a character created by Charles Dickens. His f… (More on Humbug)