Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Humbug

Humbug , noun

[Probably from hum to impose on, deceive + bug a frightful object.]

1.
An imposition under fair pretenses; something contrived in order to deceive and mislead; a trick by cajolery; a hoax.
2.
A spirit of deception; cajolery; trickishness.
3.
One who deceives or misleads; a deceitful or trickish fellow; an impostor. — Sir J. Stephen

Humbug , transitive verb

To deceive; to impose; to cajole; to hoax.