An imposition under fair pretenses; something contrived in order to deceive and mislead; a trick by cajolery; a hoax.

A spirit of deception; cajolery; trickishness.

One who deceives or misleads; a deceitful or trickish fellow; an impostor.

To deceive; to impose; to cajole; to hoax.

(hum·bug) NOUN: 1.) Something intended to deceive; a hoax or fraud. 2.) A person who claims to be other than what he or she is; an impostor. 3.) Nonsense; rubbish. 4.) Pretense; deception.

communication (writen or spoken) intended to deceive

something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage

trick or deceive

A hoax or sham; interjection meaning "nonsense"; slang for "to deceive or cheat"

Humbug is an archaic term meaning "hoax", or "jest". While the term was first attested in 1751 in student slang, its etymology is unknown. It is known, however, that it was used as profanity centuries ago, in places such as Great Britain.