Buzz
Balderdash. Codswallop. Bunkum. Poppycock. The English language is brimming with peculiar terms to call out sheer absurdity—and these are just the tip of the iceberg. While these words may sound amusing, each carries a unique backstory. Balderdash is believed to have referred to a frothy mix of drinks or the lather used by barbers. Codswallop likely originated as a term for inferior beer, possibly linked to Hiram Codd, a bottle maker. Bunkum traces back to a meaningless speech by a congressman from Buncombe County, North Carolina, in 1820. As for poppycock, it may derive from a Dutch term meaning “soft dung” or the phrase zo fijn als gemalen poppekak, translating to “as fine as powdered doll’s waste.” (Yes, seriously.)
Delve into the origins of 12 even more eccentric and obscure terms that mean 'nonsense' in this exploration.
1. All my eye and Betty Martin!
All my eye! first appeared in British English during the early 1700s as a way to dismiss someone spouting utter nonsense. Over time, it evolved into a range of peculiar extended phrases, including "All my eye and my grandmother!" and "All my eye and Betty Martin!," which originated in the 1780s. The identity of Betty Martin remains unclear: various theories propose it could have referred to an obscure piece of naval gear, an unconventional Irish actress and theatre proprietor in 18th-century London, or a misinterpretation of the Latin prayer Ora pro nobis beate Martine (“Pray for us, blessed Martin”).
2. To blather like a bubbly-jock
The 18th-century phrase "To blather like a bubbly-jock," meaning “to talk nonsense,” combines two fascinating old dialect terms: Blather (as seen in blatherskite, another term for a chronic gossip) originates from an old Scots word, tracing back to a Scandinavian term for idle chatter. Meanwhile, bubbly-jock was a colloquial name for a male turkey.
3. Collyweston
Collyweston, a quaint village in Northamptonshire, England, gained fame in the early 19th century for its high-quality slate production. As its reputation grew, the “west” in its name sparked a Victorian-era pun: “to be all colley-west” or “to have your colley west” meant to be askew, misplaced, or facing the wrong direction. Consequently, the term Collyweston came to symbolize illogical, nonsensical talk.
4. Cow-slaver
An 18th-century term from northern England, cow-slaver refers to something utterly worthless, literally describing the frothy drool around a cow’s mouth as it chews. Similarly, bull-scutter, an old Yorkshire term for watery manure, was used as another unappealing synonym for nonsense.
5. Flemington confetti
Flemington, a Melbourne suburb, has hosted one of Australia’s oldest and most prestigious racecourses since 1840. The phrase Flemington confetti entered Australian slang in the 1920s, symbolizing meaningless chatter or rubbish—inspired by the scattered betting slips and paper debris littering the racecourse after events.
6. Gammon and spinach!
In 19th-century criminal slang, gammon referred to deceiving or swindling someone. Its origins might stem from a pun on backgammon, implying the victim was “played,” or from the idea of being “tied up” like a joint of gammon (bacon) before cooking. This term spawned numerous expressions among Victorian London’s criminal underworld. "To gammon the twelve" meant fooling a jury; "To stand gammon" involved distracting a victim during a theft; and "gammoning the draper" described a poor man pretending to wear a shirt by tucking a handkerchief into his jacket. Gammon and spinach, meaning something absurd or fictitious, likely emerged in the mid-1840s—Charles Dickens referenced it in David Copperfield in 1849.
7. Eye-wash
The term eye-wash refers to actions taken purely for appearance, lacking genuine purpose or intended to mask the truth. Originating as military slang, its earliest recorded use dates to an 1857 description of a cavalry unit "that had even more gingerbread and eyewash about them than our own useless Regular Cavalry."
8. Moonshine on the water
Since the moon doesn’t produce its own light but reflects the sun’s, moonshine has symbolized something false or insubstantial since the early 15th century. While it’s now commonly associated with illicit alcohol (a usage dating to the 1700s), it originally appeared in various quirky phrases meaning “nonsense” or “rubbish.” "Moonshine on the water" is one of the oldest, with records tracing it back to 1468.
9. To engage in bogey-poking
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the slang term "to poke bogey" referred to speaking nonsense or, more broadly, playing a game in a manner that defied its established rules. While the exact origin remains unclear, one hypothesis suggests that both terms may derive from archaic words associated with supernatural entities—bogey, akin to the bogeyman, and poke, possibly from puck or puckle, an Old English term for a ghost or demon.
10. To speak in pack-thread
Pack-thread, the coarse string used to secure parcels, lent its name to a 19th-century English expression. Talking pack-thread came to signify speaking in a crude or careless manner, often equated with uttering nonsense. It also described excessive swearing or the act of cloaking vulgar language in suggestive hints and implications.
11. Utter tommy-rot
In 18th-century military jargon, tommy referred to the subpar bread distributed to soldiers as part of their provisions. Tommy-rot, originally describing spoiled bread, evolved in Victorian slang to signify something utterly worthless or nonsensical.
12. Resembling a whale
Drawn from Shakespeare's writings, the phrase "very like a whale" serves as a sarcastic retort to absurd or far-fetched statements. It originates from a moment in the third act of Hamlet, where Hamlet whimsically compares a drifting cloud to a camel, then a weasel, and finally a whale. Polonius, exasperated, responds with the now-famous line, "very like a whale."
