hodgepodge

• hodge-podge
• hotchpotch

From Middle English hochepoche, a variation of hochepot, from Old French hochepot, from Middle Dutch hutspot (“beef or mutton cut into small pieces and mixed and boiled together in a pot”), from hotsen, hutsen (“to shake; jog; jolt”) + pot (“pot”), equivalent to hotch +‎ pot. Compare German Low German Hüttspott (“hodgepodge”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈhɒd͡ʒˌpɒd͡ʒ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑd͡ʒˌpɑd͡ʒ/

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hodgepodge (countable and uncountable, plural hodgepodges)

1. A collection containing a variety of miscellaneous things.

   Synonyms: farrago, melange, mishmash; see also Thesaurus:hodgepodge

   His latest sculpture is a hodgepodge of kitchen clutter and scrap glued together.

   • 1653, Izaak Walton, The Compleat Angler

     Man's life is but vain, for 'tis subject to pain, / And sorrow, and short as a bubble; / 'Tis a hodge-podge of business, and money, and care, / And care, and money, and trouble.

2. A confused mass of ingredients shaken or mixed together in the same pot.

hodgepodge (third-person singular simple present hodgepodges, present participle hodgepodging, simple past and past participle hodgepodged)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To move or position in an erratic, disorganised manner.