Bollocks

Bollocks (noun / interjection / UK slang)

Definition: Literally means balls, but no one really uses it for that. It’s what you yell when you stub your toe, call someone out on a lie, or screw something up completely. Unless it’s “the dog’s bollocks,” which somehow means brilliant.

Pronunciation: /ˈbɒl.əks/ (bol-luks)

Where It Comes From: Old English had beallucas, which just meant testicles. Stayed like that for hundreds of years until people started using it as a swear word for nonsense. The Sex Pistols got dragged to court in 1977 for naming their album Never Mind the Bollocks. A linguistics professor turned up, proved to the judge it was just ancient slang for small round things, and the charges got chucked out.

How People Actually Use It: It does about ten different jobs depending on how angry you are.

Spill a brew? “Bollocks.” Someone spinning you a story down the pub? “Absolute bollocks.” Boss gave you an earful at work? You got a “bollocking.” Made a mess of wiring a plug? “Made a right bollocks of it.”

Then there’s the weird flip side: calling something “the dog’s bollocks” means you think it’s top tier, like a great motor or a decent plate of food.

Examples in the Wild:

• “Locked my keys in the boot, utter bollocks.”

  Translation: “I’ve just ruined my own day.”

• “He reckons he used to play for Arsenal’s youth team, but he’s talking pure bollocks.”

  Translation: “He’s lying through his teeth.”

• “Try some of this chilli, mate, it’s the dog’s bollocks.”

  Translation: “This food is genuinely fantastic.”

Similar Slang: Cobblers, Crap, Rubbish, Nonsense, Balls-up, The mutt’s nuts