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third-person singular simple present bamboozles, present participle bamboozling, simple past and past participle bamboozled
(transitive, informal) To con, defraud, trick, to make a fool of, to humbug or impose on someone. quotations examples
“Look here, friend,” said I, “if you have anything important to tell us, out with it; but if you are only trying to bamboozle us, you are mistaken in your game; that’s all I have to say.”
1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 19”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley
(transitive, informal) To confuse, frustrate or perplex. quotations examples
Clarke's defence, bolstered by the return of Grant Hanley, was bamboozled by a flurry of Faroese raids, at least one of which should have delivered a goal.
2021 October 12, Jamie Lyall, “Faroe Islands 0-1 Scotland”, in BBC Sport
plural bamboozles
(obsolete, informal) A cheat, hoax, or imposition.