Hoax - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth.[SUP][1][/SUP] It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment,[SUP][1][/SUP] or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.[SUP][2][/SUP] A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth.[SUP][1][/SUP] It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment,[SUP][1][/SUP] or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.[SUP][2][/SUP]
The British philologistRobert Nares (1753–1829) says that the word hoax was coined in the late 18th century as a contraction of the verb hocus, which means "to cheat",[SUP][3][/SUP] "to impose upon"[SUP][3][/SUP] or "to befuddle often with drugged liquor".[SUP][4][/SUP] Hocus is a shortening of the magicincantationhocus pocus,[SUP][4][/SUP] which in turn is a contraction of the phrase Hocus pocus, tontus talontus, vade celeriter jubeo, mentioned in Thomas Ady's 1656 book A candle in the dark, or a treatise on the nature of witches and witchcraft.[SUP][5][/SUP] According to the book, the Latin-like gibberish phrase was uttered by a conjuror to distract his audience from his sleight of hand.[SUP][5][/SUP]
Alternatively, hoax could have been derived from the Irish Gaelicolcas, pronounced olkəs and h-olkəs, an adjective used to describe behaviour similar to mischief, naughtiness, spite, wickedness, evil.[SUP][6][/SUP] Similarly, hocus could have been derived from the same word.[SUP][6][/SUP]
Yes that explains your post
That is hilarious. I can see someone getting shot waving that thing around. Looks like the smart phone is the best thing going for it. Guess some people will buy anything.