Ballokes

Part of speech: noun, interjection

Definitions

1. Vulgar British slang for the testicles ; informal British slang for nonsense or rubbish ; to scold or reprimand someone harshly in a British informal way
2. A crude British slang term for the male testicles ; a vulgar expression meaning utter nonsense or rubbish ; to tell someone off severely in informal British speech
3. Coarse slang referring to the testicles ; a rude British word for rubbish or nonsense ; to rebuke or berate a person sharply in everyday British usage

Etymology: "Ballokes" is a northern and Scots spelling of "bollocks," the plural of an Old English word, "beallucas," which was the plural of "bealluc," meaning testicle. The singular "bollock" is a later back-formation from the plural, so the word began as a plural noun and only later acquired a singular. The vulgar slang sense of "nonsense" or "rubbish" came much later and is informal. Its exact route from the anatomical sense is not fully documented, so the familiar exclamation and insult are best understood as figurative extensions of the original body-part meaning.