Bamboozle
Etymology
Appeared in the early 1700s and its origin is unknown. It is historically notable because Jonathan Swift singled it out in 1710 as a piece of disreputable slang corrupting the language — proof that today’s beloved word was yesterday’s objectionable slang. Three centuries later it is thoroughly respectable, and Swift’s complaint reads as a lesson in how slang settles into the language.
verb · /bam-BOO-zul/
To deceive or cheat someone by trickery, often leaving them confused.
What it names
A lively verb for pulling the wool over someone’s eyes — with a hint that the mark ends up bewildered as well as fooled.
Example
The pop-up bamboozled thousands of shoppers with a countdown timer that never actually ran out.
Related idea
To hoodwink is to blind someone to a hidden truth; to bamboozle emphasizes baffling and confusing them in the process.