codswallop
noun
cods·wal·lop
ˈkȯdz-ˌwä-ləp 
ˈkädz-
British, informal
: words or ideas that are foolish or untrue : nonsense
The notion that Scott was waylaid by bad luck is "a lot of codswallop," said Roland Huntford, a British historian.—
Kenneth Chang
Kenneth Chang"Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion …"—J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling… I muttered, "Yes, that's right," knowing all the while that it was a load of codswallop.—Steven Pinker
Steven PinkerSynonyms
- applesauce [slang]
- balderdash
- baloney
- boloney
- beans
- bilge
- blah
- blah-blah
- blarney
- blather
- blatherskite
- blither
- bosh
- bull [slang]
- bunk
- bunkum
- buncombe
- claptrap
- crapola [slang]
- crock
- drivel
- drool
- fiddle
- fiddle-faddle
- fiddlesticks
- flannel [British]
- flapdoodle
- folderol
- falderal
- folly
- foolishness
- fudge
- garbage
- guff
- hogwash
- hokeypokey
- hokum
- hoodoo
- hooey
- horsefeathers [slang]
- humbug
- humbuggery
- jazz
- malarkey
- malarky
- moonshine
- muck
- nerts [slang]
- nonsense
- nuts
- piffle
- poppycock
- punk
- rot
- rubbish
- senselessness
- silliness
- slush
- stupidity
- taradiddle
- tarradiddle
- tommyrot
- tosh
- trash
- trumpery
- twaddle
Examples of codswallop in a Sentence
That is a load of codswallop.
a trendy London restaurant serving bizarre concoctions that anyone with a brain and a stomach would dismiss as codswallop
Recent Examples on the Web
Great story, total codswallop, says Skaife, who has pored through the archives and found zip.
—William Booth, The Seattle Times, 26 Oct. 2018
And don’t forget codswallop, a word that sounds Shakespearean but was coined in 1959.
—Stephen Miller, WSJ, 29 May 2018
Mnuchin tried to double-talk this codswallop past SPW.
—Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, 19 May 2017
William Booth, The Seattle Times, 26 Oct. 2018
And don’t forget codswallop, a word that sounds Shakespearean but was coined in 1959.
—Stephen Miller, WSJ, 29 May 2018
Mnuchin tried to double-talk this codswallop past SPW.
—Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, 19 May 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'codswallop.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Codswallop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/codswallop. Accessed 17 Apr. 2024.
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