Flubdub

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Meaningless or pretentious speech that lacks real significance
2. Empty or trivial words that seem important but convey no true meaning
3. Talk that is either silly or insincere, often used to impress or deceive

Etymology: "Flubdub" belongs to a playful family of English words built by doubling a sound, like "hurly-burly" and "higgledy-piggledy," where the rhythm does much of the work. Its first half echoes "flub," a verb meaning to bungle or botch something, and the second half rhymes with it. The result sounds like a slightly deflated, puffed-up bit of talk, which suits the sense of speech that sounds grand but says little. Because the pattern is so flexible, the word fits the kind of wordplay that gives nonsense its own character. Its form does part of the job of its meaning, so a listener hears the bluster before they grasp the definition.

Synonyms: nonsense, drivel, gibberish