What does "codswallop" mean?
Senseless talk or writing; nonsense; rubbish.
Codswallop
/ˈkɒdzˌwɒl.əp/ intj, noun, slang
intj, noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Senseless talk or writing; nonsense; rubbish.
- Grammar: codswallop is listed as intj, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: applesauce, baloney, folderol, nonsense.
- Usage evidence: What a load of absolute codswallop.
How to use "codswallop"
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Meaning check
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Source and review context
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 Senseless talk or writing; nonsense; rubbish. Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, slang, uncountable
"Tony: I was not. Sidney: Don’t give me that old codswallop. You were counting your money."
- 2 nonsensical talk or writing wordnet
Intj
- 1 Used to express disbelief: nonsense!; rubbish! Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, slang
Example
"What a load of absolute codswallop."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "codswallop"?
Common synonyms include: applesauce, baloney, folderol, nonsense, rubbish, trash.
How do you use "codswallop" in a sentence?
What a load of absolute codswallop.
How do you pronounce "codswallop"?
Pronounced /ˈkɒdzˌwɒl.əp/.
Etymology
Unknown. Attested from a 1959 episode of the 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, though a humorous newspaper column from 1947 does use the fictional name "Sir Aubrey Codswallop". Originally written (1963) codswallop; the spelling cod's wallop is later. Various etymologies are proposed from some sense of cod, such as from cod (“joke, imitation”) + -s- + wallop (“beer”) (slang), hence “imitation beer” (with interconsonantal -s- to ease pronunciation of -dw-), or from cod (“scrotum, as in codpiece”) + -s- + wallop (“to hit”), hence “to hit (with) the testicle bag,” or from cod (“fish”), hence perhaps some part of the fish, as used in the fishing industry. A frequently given etymology, although widely rejected as a folk etymology, derives it from Hiram Codd, British soft drink maker of the 1870s, known for the eponymous Codd-neck bottle, with the suggestion that codswallop is a derisive term for soft drinks by beer drinkers, from Codd’s + wallop (“beer”), thus sarcastically “Codd’s beer”. There is no evidence that early uses had this sense; the slang term wallop (“beer”) appeared after Codd’s lifetime, initial spellings (in print from 1963) do not reflect such a derivation (*Codd’s wallop and *coddswallop with -dd- are not found), and there is an 80-year gap between the proposed coinage and attestation. This is also the name given to the wooden device placed over the neck of a codd bottle and given a push (wallop) to dislodge the marble in the neck of the bottle. The word has also been used to describe the process of opening a codd bottle.