argle-bargle

American  

[ahr-guhl-bahr-guhl] / ˈɑr gəlˈbɑr gəl /

noun

Chiefly British.

1. argy-bargy.

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argle-bargle British  

/ ˌɑːɡəlˈbɑːɡəl /

noun

1. another word for argy-bargy

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Etymology

Origin of argle-bargle

1870–75; reduplication of argle, variant of argue

Explanation

Argle-bargle is meaningless nonsense. If you ask a politician and she responds in a confusing, absurd way, you can say her answer is nothing but argle-bargle. It's more common to hear the word argle-bargle in Britain than in the US, but wherever you are, it's a great way to refer to gibberish or foolish talk. You can also use the word to mean an argument or a quarrel. Argle-bargle comes from the 1580s word argle, "to argue obstinately," which might be a combination of argue and haggle. The variation argy-bargy comes from a Scottish rhyme.

Example Sentences

The court filing is full of techno argle-bargle that would cause the eyes of even the most enthusiastic programmer to glaze over, much less the average journalist.

From Salon • Feb. 16, 2022

These opinions are deceptively dry, cloaked in mind-numbing legalistic argle-bargle.

From Slate • Dec. 20, 2019

“We will not rely on hyperbolic statements about the end of the internet as we know it, and 140-character argle-bargle, but rather on the data,” Mr. Pai said.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2017

He then lapsed into the bureaucratic argle-bargle by which government officials try to communicate.

From Washington Times • Jul. 27, 2015

"Let's have a good old argle-bargle," he said.

From Changing Winds A Novel by Ervine, St. John G. (St. John Greer)