Poppycocks

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Ridiculous or nonsensical ideas or statements that lack credibility or seriousness
2. An expression used to describe something that is absurd or foolish in nature
3. Words or claims that are deemed trivial or trivializing, often dismissed as irrelevant or false

Etymology: "Poppycocks" is the plural of "poppycock," which English borrowed from Dutch "pappekak." The Dutch word is a compound of "pappe," meaning soft food, and "kak," meaning dung or excrement. Put together, the literal image is of soft, mushy filth, a rather unappetizing picture for what is now a polite word for nonsense. The plural form simply reflects the noun's use as a countable term for bursts of foolish talk, so "poppycocks" is the form you would use when you mean several such statements or several episodes of rubbish. Speakers of English reached for this sort of earthy Dutch imagery at a time when it was easy to make a dismissive remark sound colourful.

Synonyms: nonsense, balderdash, bunk, drivel, twaddle

Antonyms: truth, fact, reality, certainty, genuineness