φλομώνω = choke, fill with smoke, smoke someone/something out, smother, suffocate.
At least that is what Word Reference tells us.
Βικιλεξικο gives two definitions. Literally, it means to fill a place with smoke or an unpleasant smell; metaphorically, it is bamboozling people with nonsense, lies or empty promises.
- (κυριολεκτικά) γεμίζω με καπνο ή με μια άσχημη μυρωδιά έναν χώρο
- (μεταφορικά) ζαλίζω τους άλλους με αερολογίες, ψέματα ή κενές υποσχέσεις
Personally, I find it helpful as an aide-memoire when I know the etymology of a word. φλομώνω comes from φλόμος, which is a kind of plant. Liddell & Scott translate it as ‘mullein’. No, I didn’t know it either! Mullein (Verbascum) has an unpleasant smell, and its root and seeds are toxic. Fishermen used it to stun sea creatures or to smoke them out of their lairs. There is a nice little description here: https://www.schooltime.gr/2018/09/22/apo-pou-proerxetai-i-leksi-flomono/
In usage it seems to collocate most frequently with ψέμα/ψέματα (lie/lies). As usual, www.slang.gr gives good examples:
- Μας φλόμωσες με τις μαλακίες σου = Your bullshit has got us totally bamboozled.
- Όξω ρε από την καλύβα, μας φλόμωσες με τις κλανιές σου! = Get out of the shed. Your farts have stunk the place out.
- Μας φλόμωσες με τα ψέματά σου. + Your lying has got us completely confused.
Someone online asked what ‘mullein’ was in English. I would have answered, “Mullein.” Anyway, it was suggested that there were hundreds of local names including ‘cowboy toilet paper’. Imagine wiping your arse on a plant that smelt like shit. Finally, here is an article about Athens in the 1830s. Apparently, the plant thrived in the wastewater, so the city had to put up with the double stench of raw sewage and mullein. https://www.mixanitouxronou.gr/me-flomoses-apo-pio-fito-vgike-i-frasi-pou-diadothike-tin-epochi-pou-i-athina-den-iche-apochetefsi/