hodgepodge

See also: hodge-podge

English

Alternative forms

• hodge-podge
• hotchpotch

Etymology

From Middle English hochepoche, a variation of hochepot, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French hochepot, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle Dutch hutspot (“beef or mutton cut into small pieces and mixed and boiled together in a pot”), from hotsen, hutsen (“to shake; jog; jolt”) + pot (“pot”), equivalent to hotch +‎ pot. Compare German Low German Hüttspott (“hodgepodge”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhɒdʒˌpɒdʒ/
• IPA^(key): /ˈhɑdʒˌpɑdʒ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

hodgepodge (countable and uncountable, plural hodgepodges)

1. A hotchpotch; a collection containing a variety of miscellaneous things.

   His latest sculpture is a hodgepodge of kitchen clutter and scrap glued together. In fact, all his recent pieces have been similar hodgepodges.

   • 1653, Izaak Walton, The Compleat Angler

     Man's life is but vain, for 'tis subject to pain, / And sorrow, and short as a bubble; / 'Tis a hodge-podge of business, and money, and care, / And care, and money, and trouble.

2. A confused mass of ingredients shaken or mixed together in the same pot.

Synonyms

• farrago, hotchpotch, melange, mingle-mangle, mishmash, oddments, odds and ends, omnium-gatherum, ragbag
• See also Thesaurus:hodgepodge

Translations

collection of miscellaneous things; a jumble

• Bulgarian: сбирщина (bg) f (sbirština), тюрлюгювеч m (tjurljugjuveč)
• Catalan: poti-poti m
• Czech: mišmaš (cs) m
• Dutch: mikmak (nl) m, mengelmoes (nl)
• Finnish: sekamelska (fi)
• French: salmigondis (fr) m, fatras (fr) m
• German: Sammelsurium (de) n, Mischmasch (de) m, Wust (de) m
• Italian: pot-pourri m, accozzaglia (it) f, zibaldone (it) m, miscuglio (it) m, pasticcio (it) m, pastrocchio (it) m, guazzabuglio (it) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: farrāgō f, miscellānea n pl
• Norwegian: sammensurium n, virvar (no) n
• Portuguese: mistureba f, miscelânea (pt) f, mistureba f
• Russian: вся́кая вся́чина (ru) f (vsjákaja vsjáčina), мешани́на (ru) f (mešanína)
• Scots: pran
• Spanish: mezcolanza f
• Swedish: sammelsurium (sv) c, salig blandning
• Welsh: cybolfa (cy) f

Verb

1. (transitive, intransitive) To move or position in an erratic, disorganised manner.