balderdash

[bawl-der-dash]

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noun

senseless, stupid, or exaggerated talk or writing; nonsense.

Obsolete. a muddled mixture of liquors.

Origin of balderdash

First recorded in 1590–1600; of obscure origin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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.
The Light Shines in Darkness
Leo Tolstoy
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

stupid or illogical talk; senseless rubbish

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

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).