mumbo jumbo

     At the somewhat advanced age of 54, I am encountering people so ignorant that they imagine mumbo-jumbo will work on me. Mumbo-jumbo is a useful expression. It means using a long word, after which other people are supposed to back away bowing, or do a great salaam on their knees as an act of worship in front of such other-worldly erudition. Well, antidisestablishmentarianism* to you. When I was about 10 years old, I was told that "antidisestablishmentarianism" is the longest word in the English language. If you mean to use mumbo-jumbo on me, you are 40-some years too late.  Like all good con artists, those who would practice mumbo-jumbo should get to know the "mark" before starting on the con. Maybe I'm brighter than I look. Or mumbo-jumbo practitioners have a poor grasp of reality. Lots of people know long words. Some of us are not ignorant enough to imagine that they can be used to work magic spells.

* Yes, I do know what this means, and if you ask, I'll gladly explain it to you.