> (it's friday afternoon!)
> http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutwordorigins/codswallop
> What is the origin of the word 'codswallop'?
> The story goes that a gentleman by the name of Hiram Codd patented a
> bottle for fizzy drinks with a marble in the neck, which kept the
> bottle shut by pressure of the gas until it was pressed
> inwards. Wallop was a slang term for beer, and Codd's wallop came to
> be used by beer drinkers as a derogatory term for weak or gassy beer,
> or for soft drinks.
> This theory has appeared in Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable,
> but there are problems with it. Codswallop is not recorded until the
> mid-20th century, rather a long time after Codd's invention, and there
> are no examples of the spelling Codd's wallop, which might be expected
> as an early form. These are not conclusive disproof of the theory -
> it is conceivable that the term circulated by word of mouth, like many
> slang terms, and that the connection with Codd's bottle had been
> forgotten by the time that the term was written down - but they do
> shed doubt on the tale.
> anyway, it's a word that i haven't used/heard in ages. no doubt this
> weekend it'll be in frequent use.
LOL, great
That's what I love about this place, there's always *someone* who knows
the answer :-)
Beers and cheers
(uncle) Goy
"The Pits" http://www.theuspits.com/
"A man is only as old as the woman he feels"
--Groucho Marx--
