bollocks
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.something that is not true or is complete nonsense.
n.nonsense, rubbish, or information deliberately intended to mislead. Uncountable in this sense.
Simple“Don't listen to him, he's talking absolute bollocks.”
In context“The politician's explanation for the missing funds was dismissed by the press as complete and utter bollocks.”
- 02 C1 Advanced
- 03 C1 Advanced
n.something that is excellent or the very best of its kind.
n.an elliptical form of 'the dog's bollocks', signifying excellence or the highest quality.
Simple“Have you seen his new car? It's the bollocks.”
In context“The sound system they installed for the festival was absolute bollocks; the clarity was unlike anything I had heard before.”
UsageAlways used with the definite article 'the'.
- 04 C1 Advanced
v.to mess something up or fail a task completely.
v.to fail a task or to make a mess of a situation. Often used in the form 'bolloked' or 'bolloked up'.
Simple“I really bollocked that interview this morning.”
In context“The contractor completely bollocked the plumbing installation, leading to a massive leak in the basement.”
From Old English beallucas (nominative plural of bealluc), via Middle English ballokes (plural of ballok), the term bollocks emerges by surface analysis as bollock + -s. The comparison to cullion suggests a shared etymological lineage in the realm of vulgar slang.
No named entities or dates are recorded in the source, though the term's survival into modern English attests to its resilience as a lexical curiosity.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.