"Hoddy-doddy,
All legs and no body."
Hodge-podge appears to be a corruption of hotch-pot. It occurs in old writers. (See Richardson in Hotch-pot.)
Hoity-toity.—Thoughtless, giddy. Formed from the old word to hoit, to dance or leap, to indulge in riotous mirth. See Nares in Hoit and Hoyt.
Hubble-bubble.—A familiar word, formed from bubble. Not in the dictionaries.
Hubbub.—Used by Spenser, and other good writers. Richardson derives it from hoop or whoop, shout or yell. It seems rather a word formed in imitation of the confused inarticulate noise produced by the mixture of numerous voices, like mur-mur in Latin.
Hugger-mugger.—Used by Spenser, Shakspeare, and other old writers. The etymology is uncertain. Compare Jamieson in Hudge-mudge. The latter part of the word seems to be allied with smuggle, and the former part to be the reduplication. The original and proper sense of hugger-mugger is secretly. See Nares in v., who derives it from to hugger, to lurk about; but query whether such a word can be shown to have existed?
Humpty-dumpty.—Formed from hump. This word occurs in the nursery rhyme:
"Humpty-dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty-dumpty had a great fall," &c.