hoodoo
noun
[ ˈhuːduː ]
• a run of bad luck associated with a particular person, group, or activity.
• "the hoodoo continued on Saturday as City went down 1–0"
• a column or pinnacle of weathered rock.
• "a towering sandstone hoodoo"
hoodoo
verb
• bewitch.
• "she's hoodooed you"
Origin:
late 19th century (originally US): apparently an alteration of voodoo. It originally denoted a person who practised voodoo, hence a hidden cause of bad luck (hoodoo (sense 1 of the noun)). hoodoo (sense 2 of the noun) is apparently due to the resemblance of the rock column to a strange human form, often topped by an overhanging ‘hat’ of harder rock.
