# Is the Brittish term "Bollocks" likened to the American term "Bullsh\*t"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-brittish-term-bollocks-likened-to-the-american-term-bullsh-t/373712>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [September 22, 2006, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-brittish-term-bollocks-likened-to-the-american-term-bullsh-t/373712 "2006-09-22T14:18:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\
**Post date:** [September 23, 2006, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-brittish-term-bollocks-likened-to-the-american-term-bullsh-t/373712/21 "2006-09-23T08:28:27Z")

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I can but agree with **yojimbo**. “Ask me bollocks” is inspired. And also the use of the collective noun as a singular, as in “he’s a bollix” was also new to me.

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [September 23, 2006, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-brittish-term-bollocks-likened-to-the-american-term-bullsh-t/373712/22 "2006-09-23T13:49:09Z")

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[QUOTE=Mindfield]  
As I understand it, “Bollocks” is semantically analogous to “Balls” (as in testicles.) I’ve heard “Balls!” being used in North America…  
[/QUOTE]

‘Balls!’ said the Queen. ‘If I had to, I’d be king!’  
The king laughed. He had to.  
The prince didn’t. He was shy to.  
The princess did. She wanted to.  
The duke said they’re both nuts.

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**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\
**Post date:** [September 23, 2006, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-brittish-term-bollocks-likened-to-the-american-term-bullsh-t/373712/23 "2006-09-23T15:51:45Z")

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My Dictionary of American Slang has “balled up” as a synonym for “bollixed up” (confused, riddled with blunders), but no ballocks.

A random thought…is “nuts” (like Gen. McAuliffe’s response to the German surrender demand) part of this testicles/bullshit family?

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**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\
**Post date:** [September 23, 2006, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-brittish-term-bollocks-likened-to-the-american-term-bullsh-t/373712/24 "2006-09-23T16:36:35Z")

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[QUOTE=jsc1953]  
My Dictionary of American Slang has “balled up” as a synonym for “bollixed up” (confused, riddled with blunders), but no ballocks.

A random thought…is “nuts” (like Gen. McAuliffe’s response to the German surrender demand) part of this testicles/bullshit family?  
[/QUOTE]

Indeed it is.

I suspect the General was really thinking “Bollocks to 'em, Nazi bastards!”

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**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\
**Post date:** [September 23, 2006, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-brittish-term-bollocks-likened-to-the-american-term-bullsh-t/373712/25 "2006-09-23T16:39:27Z")

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According to Bill Bryson, the original version of the song “Barnacle Bill” was called “Ballocky Bill”, and the rest of the lyrics were far less innocent.

Don’t know how true that is, given some of the stuff I’ve read about him in GD.

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