noun🎓 English idiom

mish-mash

a confused jumble or mixture

What it means

A mish-mash is a disordered mixture of incompatible or unrelated elements thrown together without a clear plan. It is similar to hodge-podge and usually carries a mildly critical, dismissive tone.

Examples

  • The film is a mish-mash of genres that never quite works.
  • His essay was a mish-mash of half-remembered quotes.
  • Dinner ended up a mish-mash of leftovers.
  • The website is a mish-mash of fonts and colors.

Where it comes from

Recorded from the 15th century, probably a reduplication of 'mash' (a mixed mass). The rhyming pattern emphasizes the jumbled, indistinct quality.

Related idioms

#hodge-podge#higgledy-piggledy#topsy-turvy#mumbo-jumbo

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