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poppycock love

poppycock

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Senseless talk; nonsense.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Trivial talk; nonsense; stuff and rubbish.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun colloquial foolish talk; nonsense.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun senseless talk

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Perhaps from an unattested American colonial Dutch use of Dutch poppekak, doll's excrement (in contemporary Dutch, found mostly in variants of the expression zo fijn als gemalen poppekak, excessively pious (literally, as fine as powdered doll's excrement)) : pop, doll (from Middle Dutch poppe, from Vulgar Latin *puppa, from Latin pūpa) + kak, excrement (from kakken, to defecate, from Middle Dutch kacken, from Latin cacāre; see kakka- in Indo-European roots).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Dutch pappekak, from pap ("soft") + kak ("excrement").

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Examples

  • All of the above poppycock is a mere euphemism; for hate the black president.

    CNN Truth Squad: No eye care until you're blind in one eye? 2009

  • Apparently the word poppycock means "senseless talk" and probably originated from the Dutch who have a similar word pappekak which means "soft dung".

    No Ziggy? Poppycock or Poppyvag? RICHARD 2009

  • I guess me get too excited for my own good, but where did the word poppycock come from?

    Archive 2009-01-01 RICHARD 2009

  • Apparently the word poppycock means "senseless talk" and probably originated from the Dutch who have a similar word pappekak which means "soft dung".

    Archive 2009-01-01 RICHARD 2009

  • I agree with you about the word poppycock, but disagree that Simon's argument fits the term.

    Two TV-Related Articles Worth Reading - TV Guidance - Macleans.ca 2009

  • I guess me get too excited for my own good, but where did the word poppycock come from?

    No Ziggy? Poppycock or Poppyvag? RICHARD 2009

  • COOPER: Candy, we don't hear the word -- the word poppycock enough, do we?

    CNN Transcript Nov 16, 2005 2005

  • Gerry Doherty, leader of the TSSA union, and a vocal opponent of Network Rail's bonus payments, said the company's claims of record punctuality were "poppycock".

    Network Rail talks up cost savings and punctuality 2010

  • In an attempt to thwart the onset of this condition in myself I recently caught myself using the word "poppycock", I have admitted that there is indeed still much I don't know, and have also resolved to open my mind to new knowledge.

    Appealing Package: What's New Is Old Again BikeSnobNYC 2010

  • In the wake of the Twinkie defense, a representative of the ITT-owned Continental Baking Company asserted that the notion that overdosing on the cream-filled goodies could lead to murderous behavior was "poppycock" and "crap" -- apparently two of the artificial ingredients in Twinkies, along with sodium pyrophosphate and yellow dye -- while another spokesperson for ITT couldn't believe "that a rational jury paid serious attention to that issue."

    Paul Krassner: Behind the Infamous Twinkie Defense 2009

Comments

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  • brtom commented on the word poppycock

    "All poppycock, you'll scuse me saying. For the hoi polloi."

    Joyce, Ulysses, 14

    January 27, 2007

  • she commented on the word poppycock

    Apparently from Dutch poppekak, literally "doll's excrement," as in zo fijn als gemalen poppekak, "as fine as powdered doll's excrement" (showing excessive religious zeal, etc.).

    August 6, 2008