codswallop

Use this forum to suggest Good Words for Professor Beard.
M. Henri Day
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codswallop

Postby M. Henri Day » Wed Sep 28, 2005 5:50 am

Well, if «gaberlunzie» qualifies as GWotD, why not this delightful word - a favourite, if memory serves, of PW, whose always good-humoured contributions to this forum are sorely missed. (Note that the origin attributed to this word below is open to question. Michael Quinion has an interesting piece on the matter ; if I were forced to guess I'd say that it probably has more to do with the common than the proper noun (cf «codpiece», but that is, of course, no more than a highly un-educated guess....)

Henri

codswallop

• noun
Brit. informal nonsense.

— ORIGIN origin uncertain, but perhaps named after Hiram Codd, who invented a bottle for fizzy drinks (1875).
曾记否,到中流击水,浪遏飞舟?

Stargzer
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Postby Stargzer » Wed Sep 28, 2005 5:54 pm

Someone's been talking to Hagrid again . . .

:)
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee

M. Henri Day
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Postby M. Henri Day » Thu Sep 29, 2005 5:40 pm

Not I....

Henri
曾记否,到中流击水,浪遏飞舟?

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Dr. Goodword
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Codswallop

Postby Dr. Goodword » Wed Oct 26, 2005 3:20 pm

This is a great word. Unfortunately, no one knows where it comes from, not even OED will make a guess. It seems rather obvious to me except for the reason it doesn't mean "something painful" rather than "nonsense". But if I'm right, I can't use it on the website.
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gailr
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Postby gailr » Wed Oct 26, 2005 10:50 pm

Verily, the lustie Elizabethans had suche concerns covered, Dr. Goodword...

NB: Those who are easily frightened should not click on the link.

M. Henri Day
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Postby M. Henri Day » Sun Oct 30, 2005 4:53 pm

Well, gailr, that Lord Samuel Piper strikes me as a very nastie man indeed !...

Henri

PS : I can't help wondering, thinking of a certain Swedish verb, if Lord Samuel didn't actually spell his surname with a double «pp»....
曾记否,到中流击水,浪遏飞舟?


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