codswallop means used to express disbelief: nonsense!; rubbish! It carries an Arena rating of 1649, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, codswallop ranks #120 of 17,052 for Most Satisfying to Say, #243 of 17,052 for Funniest Words, #2,488 of 17,052 for Most Ingenious Words, #2,771 of 17,052 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
codswallop is pronounced /ˈkɒdzˌwɒl.əp/.
Why “codswallop” is a great word
Codswallop is an interjection used to express strong disbelief or to dismiss something as nonsense or rubbish. Its origin is unknown; it was first attested in a 1959 episode of the UK television series Hancock's Half Hour, though the writers stated it was already in general use, and a humorous 1947 newspaper column employs the fictional name 'Sir Aubrey Codswallop.' Unlike 'balderdash,' which suggests pretentious or archaic foolishness, or 'drivel,' which implies merely tedious inanity, codswallop is a modern, blunt instrument of contempt. It is the derisive snort at a politician's empty promise, the bark of laughter that greets a transparent excuse, and the weary sigh that meets a preposterous bit of gossip—the definitive verbal gesture for sweeping the accumulated nonsense of the world off the table and onto the floor.
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 fis
intj
- Used to express disbelief: nonsense!; rubbish!
noun
- Senseless talk or writing; nonsense; rubbish.e.g.“Tony: I was not.
Sidney: Don’t give me that old codswallop. You were counting your money.”
Words closest in meaning
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