- Today's Word
Codswallop
[KODZ-wol-uhp]
Definition
- (noun) Nonsense or foolish talk. It’s often used to dismiss an idea, statement, or belief as ridiculous, insincere, or untrue.
Example
When the politician claimed that his new tax plan would benefit everyone, his opponents quickly dismissed it as pure codswallop, pointing out the numerous flaws and inconsistencies in his proposal.
Fun Fact
The origin of “codswallop” is uncertain, but there are several interesting theories about its etymology. One popular theory suggests that it might be derived from the words “cod,” meaning a joke or a hoax, and “wallop,” meaning to beat or thrash. According to this theory, “codswallop” could have originally referred to a tall tale or a story that was meant to deceive or “wallop” the listener. Another theory proposes that “codswallop” could be related to a 19th-century English soft drink called “Codd’s wallop,” which was named after its inventor, Hiram Codd. The drink was known for its unusual bottle design, which included a marble that would seal the bottle when pressed against a rubber gasket. Some believe that the phrase “a load of Codd’s wallop” might have been used to describe something as nonsense or foolishness, eventually being shortened to just “codswallop.”
(adjective) Lacking substance, interest, or mature thought; naive and simplistic in a way that reveals inexperience.
The critic dismissed the debut novel as jejune — competently written, technically adequate, and utterly devoid of anything worth remembering.
Jejune derives from the Latin jejunus, meaning “fasting” or “empty” — literally describing a stomach that has not been fed. The same root gives us jejunum, the section of the small intestine named for its tendency to be found empty after death. It entered English in the 17th century carrying its literal sense of emptiness before acquiring its figurative meaning of something intellectually or creatively hollow — content that has the form of nourishment without any of the substance.