flummery Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a bland custard or pudding especially of oatmeal
  2. noun meaningless ceremonies and flattery
    mummery.

WordNet

Flum"mer*y noun
Etymology
W. llumru, or llumruwd, a kind of food made of oatmeal steeped in water until it has turned sour, fr. llumrig harsh, raw, crude, fr. llum sharp, severe.
Definitions
  1. A light kind of food, formerly made of flour or meal; a sort of pap.
    Milk and flummery are very fit for children. Locke.
  2. Something insipid, or not worth having; empty compliment; trash; unsubstantial talk of writing.
    The flummery of modern criticism. J. Morley.

Webster 1913