A 'humbug' is a person or object that behaves in a deceptive or dishonest way, often as a falsehood deliberately fabricated to masquerade as the truth or jest. The term was first described in 1751 as student slang and recorded in 1840 as ''nautical phrase''. It is now used as an exclamation to describe something as hypocritical, nonsense or gibberish. When referring to a person, a humbug means a fraud or imposter, implying an element of unjustified publicly and spectacle.

In modern usage, the word is most associated with ''Ebenezer Scrooge'', created by English writer and critic Charles Dickens (7 February 1812-9 June 1870) in his 1843 novel ''A Christmas Carol''. His famous reference to Christmas, ''Bah! Humbug!'', declaring Christmas to be a fraud, is commonly used in stage and screen versions and also appeared frequently in the original book. Ebenezer Scrooge is the protagonist of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'. At the beginning, Scrooge is a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas. Towards the end of the novel, Scrooge is transformed by the spirits into a better person who changed his ways to become more friendly and less miserly. He becomes known as the embodiment of the Christmas spirit. Scrooge's catchphrase, ''Bah! Humbug! is often used to express disgust with many modern Christmas traditions.

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