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poppycock

[pop-ee-kok]
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noun
  1. nonsense; bosh.
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Origin of poppycock

1840–50, Americanism; perhaps < Dutch pappekak, equivalent to pappe- pap1 + kak excrement
Related formspop·py·cock·ish, adjective

Synonyms

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balderdash, bunk, hogwash, rubbish.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

hogwashbabblebunkbullhooeyfoolishnessdrivelbalderdashrubbishbaloneymalarkeyprattlegibberishtrashpalaversillinessfooleryjive

Examples from the Web for poppycock

Historical Examples

  • "That's poppycock," Mason replied, flinging away his cigarette.

    The Long Voyage

    Carl Richard Jacobi

  • Tweedledee is right, everything else to the contrary is Poppycock.'

    Erik Dorn

    Ben Hecht

  • It is all poppycock to say that education can make a gentleman; don't you think so?

  • “Poppycock,” said Hudson, briefly, and resumed his cogitation.

  • "Poppycock," whispered Shelby to Carlotta, as he held her hand.

    The Come Back

    Carolyn Wells

British Dictionary definitions for poppycock

poppycock

noun
  1. informal senseless chatter; nonsense
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Word Origin

C19: from Dutch dialect pappekak, literally: soft excrement, from pap soft + kak dung; see pap 1
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 poppycock

n.

1865, American English, probably from Dutch dialect pappekak, from Middle Dutch pappe "soft food" (see pap) + kak "dung," from Latin cacare "to excrete" (see caca).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper