codswallop
Pure British bosh
Codswallop is British slang for nonsense or rubbish—talk that's patently untrue or worthless: That's a load of codswallop.
The word carries a dismissive, mildly comic tone, often used to reject an argument or excuse as ridiculous.
It remains more common in British than American English.
Senseless talk or writing
- poppycockFoolish or meaningless talk
- hogwashFoolish or untrue talk
- twaddleTrivial, foolish talk
- bunkumInsincere or foolish talk
claptrap · malarkey · rubbish · drivel · tommyrot · piffle · baloney · bosh
Meaningless words or actions
- rubbishWaste or nonsense
- garbageDiscarded waste material
- bunkNonsense or stacked bed
- bullSteer before castration
crap · bollocks · phooey · pshaw · fiddlesticks · horsefeathers · my eye · stuff
Foolish, empty talk
- fiddle-faddleTrivial nonsense or fussing
- flimflamDeceptive scheme or nonsense
- rigmaroleTedious, overcomplicated procedure
- mumbo-jumboMeaningless or confusing language
gobbledygook · jiggery-pokery · hanky-panky · hocus-pocus · abracadabra · gibberish · jabberwocky · blatherskite
balderdash
Senseless talk or writing
bunkum · claptrap · malarkey · rubbish · drivel · tommyrot · piffle · baloney · bosh · humbug
nonsense
Meaningless words or actions
bull · crap · bollocks · phooey · pshaw · fiddlesticks · horsefeathers · my eye · stuff · rot
flapdoodle
Foolish, empty talk
- fiddle-faddleTrivial nonsense or fussing
- flimflamDeceptive scheme or nonsense
- rigmaroleTedious, overcomplicated procedure
mumbo-jumbo · gobbledygook · jiggery-pokery · hanky-panky · hocus-pocus · abracadabra · gibberish · jabberwocky · blatherskite · folderol
blarney
Flattering but hollow speech
- flannelSoft napped cloth
- soft soapPersuasion through excessive flattery
- sweet talkFlattering persuasion
hokum · hype · spin · waffle · hot air · bluster · bombast · empty promises · snake oil · moonshine
- nonsensenonsense, absurd, gibberish, gobbledegook, gobbledygook
- retro slanggroovy, far out, the bee's knees, neato, cool cat
- Whimsy Wordsgobbledygook, gibberish, mumbo jumbo, hogwash, balderdash
- Bunkbalderdash, baloney, bosh, bunk, bunkum
- British slangblag, bloke, bodge, blagger, bobby
- fancy wordsgrandiloquent, magniloquent, sesquipedalian, pulchritudinous, tintinnabulation
codswalloptruth
Accordance with reality
fact · reality · verity · hard facts · the facts
codswallopsense
Perception or judgment
wisdom · good sense · reasonableness · logic · rationality
codswallopsubstance
Physical material with mass
insight · profundity · words of wisdom · expert analysis · scholarly work