codswallop

== English == === Alternative forms === cod's wallop, cods wallop === 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. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈkɒdzˌwɒl.əp/ Rhymes: -ɒləp Hyphenation: cods‧wal‧lop === Noun === codswallop (uncountable) (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, slang) Senseless talk or writing; nonsense; rubbish. Synonyms: hogswallop; see also Thesaurus:nonsense 1993, J. Neville Turner, The One-Day Game – Cricket or Codswallop?, in 2001, David John Headon, The Best Ever Australian Sports Writing: A 200 Year Collection. ==== Translations ==== === Interjection === codswallop (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, slang) Used to express disbelief: nonsense!; rubbish! Synonym: hogswallop ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === Michael Quinion (1996–2026), “Codswallop”, in World Wide Words. Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “codswallop”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.