April 1976: Hugger Mugger--a Vocabulary Game

Question: How can the teacher introduce unusual vocabulary from a reading assignment in a way that will be enjoyable for students?

Answer: “Hugger Mugger,” Vocabulary game. Students try to define unusual words by guessing and without any benefit of the dictionary. One definition: “A person who hugs his victims before he mugs them.” Using words from future reading assignments, students do the same with such words as “eschew,” “oxymoron,” “pejorative,” “hiatus,” “indefatigable,” “obfuscation,” and “atavism,”  After students guess at the meanings, the teacher provides them with the actual dictionary definition.

“Hugger Mugger.”  Edward Dermon. “Potpourri.” Ed. Betty Kaufman. English Journal (April 1976), pp. 80-81.