Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.

Marks

  • ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
  • ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)

Common word endings

  • -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
  • -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
  • -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
  • Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
  • Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.

English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences

mumbo jumbo

UK /mʌmbəʊˈdʒʌmbəʊ/ · US /ˌmʌmboʊˈdʒʌmboʊ/ noun

Forms mumbo jumbos mumbo-jumbo

  1. noun (historical) A deity or other supernatural being said to have been worshipped by certain West African peoples; an idol.
  2. noun (religion) Any object of superstition; religious words and/or actions which are seen as superstitious or fraudulent. “Rev. Quack's healing services are little more than mumbo jumbo.”
  3. noun (by extension) Any confusing or meaningless speech; nonsense, gibberish. “Football lingo is mumbo jumbo to me.”

Synonyms

absurdity all my eye all my eye and Betty Martin apple grease applesauce bafflegab balderdash balls baloney banana oil Bandini baragouin batcrap batshit bilgewater blah blah-blah blah-blah-blah blather blatherskite

Etymology

Probably from Mandinka maamajomboo (“mask; masked dancer”); or perhaps from /l/-vocalization in the words mumble and jumble.

Webster’s 1913

  1. An object of superstitious homage and fear. Carlyle.

Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “mumbo jumbo”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details