farrago

(fə-rä'gō, -rā'-)
n., pl., -goes.
An assortment or a medley; a conglomeration: "their special farrago of resentments" (William Safire).

[Latin farrāgō, mixed fodder, hodgepodge, from far, farr-, a kind of grain.]

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meaning 'a confused mess or muddle', comes from a Latin word meaning 'mixed fodder' (from far = corn), and is normally used in abstract senses. In journalistic use it is often reduced to a general term for anything disapproved of, a pejorative alternative to 'show' or 'spectacle':

The director can't resist staging the entire farrago as a coarse pantomime-romp commentary on the composer's notorious love of money—Sunday Times, 2003.

The plural form is farragos in British English and farragoes in American English.

Previous:	far, fantasy, phantasy, fantastic
Next:	farther, further, fascism, fascist, fatal, fateful

Ever notice that when your words are full of anger (splenetic), they tend to become a jumble (farrago)? Columnist George F. Will has noticed:

"Immediately after the London plot was disrupted, a 'senior administration official,' insisting on anonymity for his or her splenetic words, [said]:
"'The idea that the jihadists would all be peaceful, warm, loveable, God-fearing people if it weren't for U.S. policies strikes me as not a valid idea. (Democrats) do not have the understanding or the commitment to take on these forces. It's like John Kerry. The law enforcement approach doesn't work.'
"This farrago of caricature and non sequitur makes the administration seem eager to repel all but the delusional."

Link: Townhall.com::Stability in the Middle East is an illusion::By George Will

Posted August 16, 2006.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

a confused collection, mixture: hodgepodge

For a list of words related to farrago, see:

• Confusion

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See words rhyming with "farrago."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Farrago.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - forvirret blanding, miskmask, rodsammen

Nederlands (Dutch)
ratjetoe

Français (French)
n. - ramassis

Deutsch (German)
n. - Durcheinander, Mischmasch

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - συνονθύλευμα

Italiano (Italian)
farragine

Português (Portuguese)
n. - miscelânea (f)

Русский (Russian)
смесь, всякая всячина

Español (Spanish)
n. - fárrago, miscelánea, mezcla

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - röra, sammelsurium

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
混杂, 混杂物

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 混雜, 混雜物

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 잡동사니

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 寄せ集め, ごちゃ混ぜ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) المزيج , الخليط‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮תערובת‬

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