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balderdash

[bawl-der-dash]
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noun
  1. senseless, stupid, or exaggerated talk or writing; nonsense.
  2. Obsolete. a muddled mixture of liquors.
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Origin of balderdash

First recorded in 1590–1600; of obscure origin
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for balderdash

jargon, crock, claptrap, rot, bunk, tripe, rigmarole, drivel, moonshine, poppycock, bull, malarkey, fustian, trash, fudge, twaddle, flummery, bosh

Examples from the Web for balderdash

Historical Examples of balderdash

  • I need n't read all this balderdash, mother; I 'll go on to business matters.

    Tony Butler

    Charles James Lever

  • Conn Maxwell knows better than this balderdash he's been spouting to you.

    The Cosmic Computer

    Henry Beam Piper

  • Then why all this balderdash about shock, rejection, and so on?

    Highways in Hiding

    George Oliver Smith

  • Come; that's enough; one can't listen to all this balderdash.

  • He should have been ready with argument, balderdash, or discussion of some sort.

    The Hills of Desire

    Richard Aumerle Maher

British Dictionary definitions for balderdash

balderdash

noun
  1. stupid or illogical talk; senseless rubbish
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Word Origin for balderdash

C16: of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for balderdash

n.

1590s, of unknown origin; originally a jumbled mix of liquors (milk and beer, beer and wine, etc.), transferred 1670s to "senseless jumble of words." From dash; first element perhaps cognate with Danish balder "noise, clatter" (cf. boulder).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper