hogwash
Americannoun
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refuse given to hogs; swill.
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any worthless stuff.
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meaningless or insincere talk, writing, etc.; nonsense; bunk.
noun
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informal nonsense
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pigswill
Etymology
Origin of hogwash
1400–50; 1900–05 hogwash for def. 2; late Middle English. See hog, wash
Explanation
Hogwash is complete nonsense, lies, or ridiculous actions. If an advertisement claims that taking one vitamin pill a day will make you ten times stronger, that's hogwash. The informal hogwash is perfect for talking about falsehoods and foolishness. Your little brother may insist that his lemonade stand will make him a millionaire this summer, but you know that's hogwash. And many politicians give long speeches that seem, in retrospect, to be nothing but hogwash. The word has seen a dramatic evolution, from the fifteenth century "slops fed to pigs," to "cheap liquor" in the 1700s, to "inferior writing" towards the end of the eighteenth century.
Vocabulary lists containing hogwash
Wait, What? Confusing Compound Words
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Nothing But the Truth
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
On July 27, for example, Steve Inskeep, the host of NPR’s Morning Edition, conducted a servile interview in which he sat meekly by as Allen spewed unalloyed hogwash.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2023
“Quite frankly, I think this is hogwash, and I think the way this has been spun is disingenuous and upsetting,” he said.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 28, 2023
One recent bit of hogwash appeared to have expired quickly.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 8, 2022
By just being aware of how we perceive information, we can protect ourselves from disinformation and hogwash.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 29, 2022
I really hope this one bit of hogwash is true.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
