# Old Bollock Rd. cock-up **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 8, 2008, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-bollock-rd-cock-up/462594 "2008-09-08T12:35:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-bollock-rd-cock-up/462594/1 "2008-09-08T12:35:02Z")
New Zealand There is a cock-up in Wellington with a misspelled sign. It reads Old Bollock Rd. Many find it offensive. They have no problem with the correct name of Old Bullock Rd. The difference? Bollocks are testes. Bollocks are steers or male cattle without testes. That’s not much of a difference for crudity. Maybe it’s the small small bent over walking man on the sign that adds the final insult to residents. To make this more hilarious there will be fighting over who gets possession of the sign when replaced. It’s too offensive to display, but is highly sought as a personal possession. Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean said “This is a real balls-up.” I love this story. [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/feature/story.cfm?c\_id=500835&objectid=10531077](http://www.nzherald.co.nz/feature/story.cfm?c_id=500835&objectid=10531077) The Gundaroo Bullock [http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/25665-A-B--Banjo-Paterson-The-Gundaroo-Bullock](http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/25665-A-B--Banjo-Paterson-The-Gundaroo-Bullock) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-bollock-rd-cock-up/462594/2 "2008-09-08T12:43:26Z")
Thanks for making my day. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-bollock-rd-cock-up/462594/3 "2008-09-08T12:44:40Z")
It was years before I realize that “bollocks” a.) meant testes and b.) was a crude exclamation. In the US the expression “all bollixed up” is frequently used, but its true meaning was disguised by the fact that “bollocks” wasn’t (isn’t?) a common word in the US, and it was further obscured by the fancy spelling “bollix”. That said, if anyone put up a sign labeling a road “Bollock Street” or “Bollix Street” in the US , I think it’d be changed in record time. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-bollock-rd-cock-up/462594/4 "2008-09-08T13:08:31Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > **Bollocks** are testes. **Bollocks** are steers or male cattle without testes. Glad that got cleared up, then 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-bollock-rd-cock-up/462594/5 "2008-09-08T13:20:24Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Glad that got cleared up, then 🙂 I see you didn’t fix it though. Bollocks are testes. Bullocks are steers or male cattle without testes. I can write a ten word sentence, and check it for half an hour, while still not seeing a problem with it. It’s a talent. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-bollock-rd-cock-up/462594/6 "2008-09-08T13:26:44Z")
Bollocks (or Bollix or bollox) is an essential part of the Dublin lexicon. I’m sure these are common elsewhere too. He did in his bollocks = I sincerely doubt that he did A load of bollocks = nonsense It was a bag of bollocks = It wasn’t very good ---
**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 8, 2008, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-bollock-rd-cock-up/462594/7 "2008-09-08T13:58:49Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > In the US the expression “all bollixed up” is frequently used… We also call mischievous children ‘little buggers’. And we say ‘Nuts!’ or ‘Nuts to you!’, which has the same meaning as ‘bollocks’ (or ‘bollox’ or ‘bollix’, as it’s normally spelled here). EDIT: I should have read the thread first, as **An Gadaí** already pointed out the alternate spellings. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-bollock-rd-cock-up/462594/8 "2008-09-08T14:01:42Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > It was years before I realize that “bollocks” a.) meant testes and b.) was a crude exclamation. In the US the expression “all bollixed up” is frequently used, but its true meaning was disguised by the fact that “bollocks” wasn’t (isn’t?) a common word in the US, and it was further obscured by the fancy spelling “bollix”. Leading to much merriment in my youth when “bollixed” was used on the Flintstones. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-bollock-rd-cock-up/462594/9 "2008-09-08T14:16:02Z")
bolloxed also means drunk. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-bollock-rd-cock-up/462594/10 "2008-09-08T14:16:47Z")
It’s my favourite exclamation. Hardly a day goes by where i don’t say it, out loud to the ether, at some irritating thing or other. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-bollock-rd-cock-up/462594/11 "2008-09-08T20:50:05Z")
I wonder if there’s a market for [these bad-taste novelty items](http://www.truck-nuts.com/index.html) around there?