I have heard the term time and time again. I always assumed it was the british equilivent of “aw crap”.
Then I heard a British program using it as a noun. I dunno but my best guess from the context was “ass cheeks”
Any of our UK dopers care to shed the light on this poor yank?
I’m a"yank" (being from the South, I bristle at that term though), so I may be wrong, but I think it means “bullshit”, though I think it’s physically referring to a bull’s balls.
BALLS!!
Real Brit here: as Demo says, the word literally means testicles. I believe it’s used in Antipodean countries too.
Here’s the etymology: “Old English beallucas, diminutive (pl) of beallu (unattested); see ball”. I have occasionally seen its archaic spelling as being “ballocks”.
However, in addition to this meaning, colloquially in the UK, it has a usage very similar “crap” - e.g. “that’s a load of bollocks”; as a verb it can mean to make a mess of something - e.g. “I bollocksed that up”; or an expression of annoyance: “Oh bollocks”.
In Ireland it has even more meanings, such as the similar “bollix”, which is a noun: “you’re only an auld bollix” - you are an idiot of some sort. Also “ask me bollix”, roughly translated as “no damn way”.
As an aside, the primary forum on the NADS spinoff message board for UK and Irish dopers is called “Talking Bollocks” - i.e. “shooting the shit”.
When the Sex Pistols released " Never Mind the Bollocks" in the mid 70s , there was an issue in the UK as to whether shops could stock the album and if the word could be considered obscene and baned from shops here. It was determined that it was not obscene.
If we say something is bollocks we do mean it is useless, bullshit, sophistry but also a noun for the testicles
eg: He tried to kick me in the bollocks
However the phrase “The Dog’s Bollocks” has come to mean The very best or somethng really good!
Patr100, I see in Preview that you pipped me to the post, but here’s my original reply with some links:
It can also mean “nonsense” , hence the Sex Pistols album “Never Mind the Bollocks”, which led to a court case over indecency.
For Americans and others who don’t use the term, I believe its etymology tells us that it came via an older word ballocks, describing bulls’ testicles. That should make it a bit clearer.
This is a variation on “the bee’s knees” or perhaps “the cat’s whiskers.” Or maybe the latter are “watered down” versions of the former. There are plenty of others in the same vein: “the gnat’s knackers,” the “badger’s nadger’s” etc…
Slight nitpick: jimm, where I come from “talking bollocks” would translate better as “talking crap” (i.e. unilaterally spouting nonsense) than shooting the shit, which seems to be more like making idle chatter.
My favourite usage of the word bollocks:
As Patr100 points out, something described as “bollocks” means something crap. Traditionally.
Something described as “dog’s bollocks” or “top bollocks” means something brilliant.
Because of this second meaning, “bollocks” is now also occasionally used to mean something brilliant.
Hope this makes English English crystal clear 
One of those booze-cruise warehouses in Calais sells a brand of cheap wine called " Dog’s Bollocks ". I’ve tried some and it’s not bad for plonk.
I thought the same thing. Probably because the word sorta looks & sounds a bit like buttocks, and in the context you usually hear it, buttocks seems to fit well.
I’m not a Brit, but that’s cool. I’m going to have to try & work that into conversation, some how.
Ahh, I begin to understand.
The word seems to have many shades of meaning only slightly related to its literal definition.
Is it like many Hawaiian words where the meaning is determined by how and why it is said?
For example “aloha” which literaly means “love”, depending on context can mean anywhere from “consideration” to “goodbye”?
Originally, it literally meant “little balls,” -ock having been a diminuitve suffix. This construction can be seen in “hillock,” meaning a little hill.
…and don’t forget pillock.
As in ----“Rodney you daft pillock”.
I’m not sure it’s quite that versatile… To simplify things - and this is of course a rash generalisation - in most of its non-literal uses (i.e. when not specifically refering to testicles) the word bollocks could be substituted by the word crap.
There should be a French word like ‘bolleaux’.
That would be the dog’s bollocks!
Or am I just talking a load of bollocks…
More like a load of fetid dingo’s kidneys.
A nitpick: If my memory serves correctly - and it often doesn’t - a court case had already decided - before the record was finished - that Sid Vicious had not transgressed by using the word “Bollocks” in public, hence the name of the album.
Oh please, don’t destroy one of the few worthwhile musical elements of the album - Glenn Matloch (later replaced by musical joke Sid Vicious) and Steve Jones created the band’s sound. They had already used all the good swear words on TV with Mr Grundy. Bollocks was very small potatoes.