hugger-mugger (
http://definr.com/hugger-mugger)
adj 1: in utter disorder; "a disorderly pile of clothes" [syn:
disorderly,
higgledy-piggledy,
jumbled,
topsy-turvy]
2: conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods;
"clandestine intelligence operations"; "cloak-and-dagger
activities behind enemy lines"; "hole-and-corner
intrigue"; "secret missions"; "a secret agent"; "secret
sales of arms"; "surreptitious mobilization of troops";
"an undercover investigation"; "underground resistance"
[syn:
clandestine,
cloak-and-dagger,
hole-and-corner(a),
hush-hush,
on the quiet(p),
secret,
surreptitious,
undercover,
underground]
n : a state of confusion; ritual accompanied by complicated and
purposeless activity that obscures and confuses; "he
engaged in the hugger-mugger of international finance"
[syn:
mumbo jumbo]
adv : in secrecy; "they did it all hugger-mugger"