hugger-mugger

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
hugger-mugger/ˈhʌɡəmʌɡə/

▶adjective

• 1 confused; disorderly.

• 2 secret.

▶noun

• 1 confusion or disorder.

• 2 secrecy.

– origin C16: prob. rel. to huddle and to dial. mucker ‘hoard money, conceal’.