Codswallop Meaning, Codswallop Definition
The word codswallop meaning, primarily a British English term meaning "nonsense", is an interjection of uncertain origin.
Popular etymology claims an ancient and vernacular origin for the word, with cod being interpreted from Germanic word for "bag" and later a Middle English term for the male genitals (as in codpiece). The wallop component can be referred to separately: Merriam-Webster gives it as the Middle English "walopen", meaning to gallop.
Another popular etymology places the word's origins in the brewing industry. In 1876, British soft drink maker Hiram Codd designed and patented a bottle designed specifically for fizzy drinks. Though his Codd-neck bottle was a success in the fizzy drink industry, alcohol drinkers disparaged Codd's invention, often saying it was only good for "wallop" (a slang term for beer in the late-19th century). The term soon became "Codd's Wallop" and was eventually used for anything of low-quality or rubbish.
This theory has appeared in Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, but there are problems with it. Codswallop is not recorded until the mid-20th century, rather a long time after Codd's invention, and there are no examples of the spelling Codd's wallop, which might be expected as an early form. These are not conclusive disproof of the theory – it is conceivable that the term circulated by word of mouth, like many slang terms, and that the connection with Codd's bottle had been forgotten by the time that the term was written down – but they do shed doubt on the tale.
Yet another theory has to do with cod. When cod was landed it went into the sheds for cleaning & preparation. The cold & wet waste trimmings from what were large fish would hit the ground with a distinctive sound, "wallop". By association, the word codswallop became used for any significant amount of sloppy rubbish & from there, for significant spoken/written rubbish.
As the BBC series Balderdash & Piffle describes, the term appears in a 1959 episode of Hancock's Half Hour.
In 2009 British animation team The Brothers McLeod were nominated in the Short Animation category of the BAFTA Film Awards for their film entitled Codswallop.
2. First used by Scottish fisherman circa. 1614 for the abbreviation for coshing a number of fish, namely Cod, after they had been caught.
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