Definitions
Etymologies
- Unknown, attested from 1959 episode of UK TV series Hancock’s Half Hour. The writers (Galton and Simpson) state that the phrase was in general use when the show was broadcast. A national TV appeal in the UK in 2006 failed to find earlier references. Originally written (1963) codswallop, spelling cod's wallop is later. (Wiktionary)
- Origin unknown. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“EC, fess up – you copy your codswallop from a large book collection of Keynes-Samuelson cant, don’t you?”
“As to what Her Ladyship had to say about the proms I can sum up thus: codswallop, which is code for ‘balderdash’.”
“One Hiram Codd did 'invent' a cold refreshing drink which it is claimed was called codswallop and since the Cockney slang for a glass of beer is a glass of wallop, maybe this is its etymological origin.”
On Thursday, the Legg report will be published along with...
“Boris Johnson today dismissed continuing concerns over the News of the World's use of phone hacking as "codswallop" that "looks like a politically motivated put-up job by the Labour party".”
The Guardian: Boris Johnson dismisses concerns over News of the World phone hacking as 'codswallop'
“I was going to use the same description, but was not sure on the spelling; I was leaning towards "codswallop" though.”
On Thursday, the Legg report will be published along with...
“In a 2008 book, Prof. MacKay dismisses what he calls the "codswallop" in the energy debate, such as government campaigns to get citizens to turn off their cellphone chargers.”
“At his home in Edinburgh's Lauriston Place, Mr MacDonald dismissed the illegitimacy claims as "codswallop".”
“On reflection whilst I stand by the thrust of that comment I would like to apologise for the intemperate use of words such as codswallop and and craven.”
“codswallop" colleges provide, as well as experience.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘codswallop’.
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UK - slang
chin wag, arse about, bollock, starkers, sweet Fanny Adams, skive, shufti, codswallop, rhyming slang, bollocks, nookie, skew-whiff and 208 more...
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UK Usage - Find US Equivalent
All these terms have a (different) American English equivalent. Wonder if you can identify them?
abridgement (abri..., accoutrement, accoutre, acknowledgement (..., opposite, advert, adaptor, adapter, sticking plaster, advertise, adviser (advisor ..., adze, aesthete and 1196 more...
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Nincompoopery
Words that clatter and tumble
nincompoop, pettyfoggery, gaberlunzie, cattywampus, weisenheimer, katzenjammer, hecklephone, loblolly, carriwitchet, flibbertyjibbet, hornswoggle, thimblerigger and 161 more...
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phrontistery - c
from phrontistery.info
caballine, cabas, cable, caboched, cabochon, caboose, cabotage, cabré, cabrie, cabriole, cabriolet, cacaesthesia and 1298 more...
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Cod
cod, code, codex, codfish, codling, inshore cod, shoal-water cod, cultus-cod, shelled peasecod, black cod, cod-liver oil, coddle and 80 more...
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Goatboy's list
Goatboy's Word Emporium
juggernaut, abhor, discombobulate, fankle, oose, orchid, schadenfreude, doppleganger, garibaldi, coquette, arabesque, meme and 19 more...
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Nonsense
Words that mean (more or less) 'nonsense'
moonshine, tommyrot, rigmarole, hogwash, piffle, hokum, horsefeathers, codswallop, folderol, blatherskite, humbug, gammon and 1 more...
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Folksy Compounds
Those great mashup words that sound like somebody's grampa made them up.
flabbergasted, flibbertigibbet, fussbudget, snickerpuss, chickabiddy, clapperclaw, screaming meemies, snicker-snack, hornswoggle, humdinger, crinkum-crankum, callithump and 11 more...
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Expressions of disbelief or disagreement
bollocks, come off it, rubbish, as if, bullshit, guff, i don't believe it, are you mad, tosh, nonsense, garbage, bunkum and 58 more...
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refriedswanforge's list
codswallop, dollop, ticker, shawarmageddon, shibboleth, zeitgeist, scrod, tomfoolery, idiom, rollock, rollicking, roger and 2 more...
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Nonsense
I've lost a word. Several months ago, I was reading a tart little essay online (the online counterpart of a British publication, but
*not* my beloved *LRB*, of that I'm pretty sure), and the ...twaddle, codswallop, bafflegab, gimcrackery, balderdash, poppycock, gibberish, tomfoolery, gobbledygook, buffoonery, hogwash, mumbo jumbo and 8 more...
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♥
ambrosia, inamorata, gossamer, lily-white, hummingbird, roucoulement, poppy, daisy, calypso, lunula, lamb, dove and 1526 more...
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When In Entropic~al English Locales.....
Care about your social environment? Save these endangered words from extinction... don't delay, adopt an out~of~date adjective today!
englishable, toesmithing, zwimmer, woad, wherefore, bobance, pediluvium, ruff, anteloquy, februation, lungeous, chalm and 357 more...
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slumry's Words
cattywampus, ingratiate, lackadaisical, exactitude, exfoliate, fulminate, circumnavigation, circuitous, debride, sidle, sequester, chicory and 1002 more...
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bintalshamsa's list
My Favorite Words
weltschmerz, perspicacity, idée fixe, invigilator, salubrious, tchotchke, ex nihilo, invidious, malapropism, naïve, sardonic, elide and 1401 more...
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List Erine
cool mint antiseptic
shalom, cattywampus, bourgeoisie, aerophile, traverse, grotto, epicurean, ex cathedra, nautilus, epitaph, lathe, continuum and 753 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for codswallop.
arby True, but this one conjures up the nice mental imagery of whacking someone with a fish, whereas poppycock is an entirely different beast. Jun 21, 2007
seanahan This is pretty much the same as poppycock. Jun 5, 2007
arby NOUN: Chiefly British Slang Nonsense; rubbish.
ETYMOLOGY: Origin unknown. Jun 4, 2007