humdudgeon means an unnecessary outcry or complaint. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “humdudgeon” is a great word
HUMDUDGEON — [Noun] An imaginary illness or an unnecessary outcry. Probably from hum ("humbug, deception") + dudgeon ("feeling of anger or resentment"), first attested in the late 18th century. Unlike "hypochondria" (which denotes a chronic, anxious preoccupation with illness) or a "grievance" (which implies a legitimate cause for complaint), a humdudgeon is a self-indulgent fiction, a performance of discomfort. It is the exaggerated sigh of a child avoiding chores, the invented headache that cancels an unwelcome engagement, or the phantom ache summoned to command a moment's undeserved sympathy—a small, forgivable deceit against the quiet terror of the mundane.
Etymology
Probably from hum (“humbug”) + dudgeon (“feeling of anger or resentment”), 18th c.
noun
- An unnecessary outcry or complaint.
- An imaginary illness.