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
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Sybiha said Russia uses a range of tactics to recruit foreigners, including financial incentives, deception and coercion.—
Ashley Carnahan,
FOXNews.com,
10 Feb. 2026
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The crux of the Democrats’ deception is that repealing 287(g) will make our communities safer.—
Robin Grammer,
Baltimore Sun,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Just like the ClickFix attacks, this malicious trickery is all about running commands that almost all users would never think to do in normal circumstances.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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While there’s a little studio trickery, like a drum part taped at a slower tempo but sped up to the BPM in the recording, the rest was due to a perspective shift.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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That said, there are plenty of reasons — none involving any kind of partisan chicanery — that explain why California elections seems to drag on and vote totals shift as ballots are steadily counted.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
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But even as skeptics label Strategy and the DAT model as a house of cards built on financial chicanery, others view them as early leaders in an emerging category of crypto banks.—
Jeff John Roberts,
Fortune,
3 Dec. 2025
Noun
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For all its cutthroat espionage and subterfuge, The Americans was always a show about family.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Jan. 2026
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Smiley, working with his colleague Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch) narrows his inquiry to five men, including Bill Haydon (Colin Firth) and Roy Bland (Ciarán Hinds), using clever subterfuge and maneuvering to get the truth.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Perfidy — from the French perfidie via the Latin perfidia — means deceitfulness, treachery or a breach of faith or promise.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
21 Jan. 2026
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But despite all this, not every Chelsea fan outside his family will regard this transfer as treachery.—
Simon Johnson,
New York Times,
17 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The outcome of the family’s skulduggery, revealed over the end credits, should be a lip-smacking wicked delight.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Feb. 2026
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Possible skulduggery on that answer messes with this pick a bit.—
Greg Cote
December 24,
Miami Herald,
24 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Voters will get a chance to reject anti-democratic gamesmanship in an April referendum.—
Editorial Board,
Washington Post,
7 Feb. 2026
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Much like the character that brought him instant fame, Waltz loves the gamesmanship that comes with a villainous turn.—
William Earl,
Variety,
6 Feb. 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
Cite this Entry
“Jiggery-pokery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jiggery-pokery. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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