# When did saying "Balls!" to express one's exasperation become a thing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 12, 2013, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204 "2013-12-12T23:20:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204/21 "2013-12-13T16:43:04Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Could someone elucidate the rhyme for this non-Brit, please? Should have added; this is usually used when intimating that someone is talking arrant nonsense, e.g. “Tha’s a load of old cobblers that is” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204/22 "2013-12-13T17:27:03Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > It was my mother’s favorite expression. I don’t know when she started using it, but remember it clearly from the 60s. > [@Flywheel](#): > > OED’s earliest known use of **balls, _int_.** is in J. H. Preston’s _Liberals_ (1938): It surprises me that the first recorded use was so recent. I don’t recall when I first heard it, but I don’t recall ever thinking it was some kind of new expression. I’m surprised that others may not have encountered it until recently. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204/23 "2013-12-13T17:50:01Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > **When did saying “Balls!” to express one’s exasperation become a thing?** Never, at least if we’re defining ‘a thing’ as something that a lot of people do. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204/24 "2013-12-13T17:51:52Z")
I have a girlfriend who shouts something even more colorful, “Balls on my chin!” ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204/25 "2013-12-13T18:03:57Z")
I’d never heard it until Craig Ferguson introduced his skeleton sidekick Geoffrey to the late show. I just figured it was his way of expressing “bollocks” so an American audience could relate or something. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204/26 "2013-12-13T18:06:49Z")
The expression pops up at one point in _The Fountainhead._, 1943, and I don’t really remember running into it anyplace else actually. “Gus, you son of a bitch,” said Keating, “the thing cost money.” “Balls!” said Gus, “we’re not paying for it.” ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204/27 "2013-12-13T20:53:56Z")
First time I heard or saw it was a Jean Shepherd story, possibly _Ollie Hopnoodle’s Haven Of Bliss_ which was published in Playboy in 1968. (Most of Shepherd’s “Ralphie” stories first appeared in PB, and I loved them.) Midway through a long drive, the family car blows a tire. Car rolls to a stop, everyone is dead quiet, fearing “the old man’s” rage. The silence is finally broken when Dad mutters, barely audibly…“Balls.” ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204/28 "2013-12-13T21:02:14Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Should have added; this is usually used when intimating that someone is talking arrant nonsense, e.g. > > “Tha’s a load of old cobblers that is” Leading to a memorable exchange in the British TV series _Yes, Minister_ > [@](#): > > [How to deal with a nonsensical complaint] > Bernard: We can CGSM it. > Hacker: CGSM? > Bernard: Civil Service code, Minister. It stands for “Consignment of Geriatric Shoe Manufacturers”. > Hacker: What? > Bernard: A load of old cobblers, Minister. > Hacker: I’m not a civil servant. I shall use my own code. I shall write: “Round Objects”. > […later…] > Bernard: You remember that letter you wrote “Round Objects” on? > Hacker: Oh yes. > Bernard: It’s come back from Sir Humphrey’s office. He’s commented on it. > Hacker: What does he say? > Bernard: Who is Round and to what does he object? Imagine my surprise when I did a Google search and it led back to an earlier SDMB [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=244722). Also, the variant “shitballs” can be traced to Alberta, although I’m uncertain of the date of my cite.Just maybe, possibly, sorta, [not safe for work](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq0Ibnq9sYA). ---
**Author:** ![Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/77aa72/32.png) [@Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fluffy_PickleSniffer)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204/29 "2013-12-13T21:06:04Z")
I used to hear my Mom yell “BALLS ON A DUCK!” whenever she’d get really ticked off or frustrated at something. No idea why that phrase, but us kids knew to scramble when we heard it. That was late 60’s early 70’s - and she’ll still use the phrase to this day. ---
**Author:** ![Gullible\_s\_Travels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de0a6/32.png) [@Gullible\_s\_Travels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gullible_s_Travels)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204/30 "2013-12-13T22:02:04Z")
I’m pretty sure that Siegfried said it (to Tristan I think) in one of the All Creatures Great and Small books. I think it’s been around for a long time. I fondly remember one day about 15 years ago when, after a series of unfortunate misinterpretations and misunderstandings that resulted in us looking like a bunch of incompetent idiots, my older and very proper boss put his head in hands and said ‘Oh God, what a balls-up!’ ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204/31 "2013-12-13T23:07:07Z")
I first heard the term used by my late uncle sometime in the late '60s. I had a vague impression it was of British origin. I never thought it was a common expression in the US. That said, I’ve been know to mutter it a few times myself. ---
**Author:** ![JimBonn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbe5ce/32.png) [@JimBonn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimBonn)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204/32 "2013-12-13T23:31:33Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_York](#): > > In London they use the cockney slang “cobblers” instead. Not just London - like most of the very small number of rhyming slang phrases that are actually used in real life, “cobblers” is used, or at least understood, throughout the country, although probably more commonly in the south. Only a small proportion of users will be aware of the “awls” etymology, assuming it is true. To most people it is simply a slang word for “nonsense” or “rubbish”. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204/33 "2013-12-14T00:11:12Z")
My dad used to say it. Late seventies, Midwestern USA. ---
**Author:** ![Marion\_Wormer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204/34 "2013-12-14T00:14:07Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > “December 22, 1944 > To the German Commander, > N U T S ! > The American Commander” > -Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe I feel hesitant to bring this up as I can’t find verification on the intertubes, but one history book I read about the war in Europe reported that he actually said, “Balls!”. This was published in newspapers as Nuts! because what he really said was too racy for the times. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204/35 "2013-12-14T00:56:42Z")
> [@Marion\_Wormer](#): > > I feel hesitant to bring this up as I can’t find verification on the intertubes, but one history book I read about the war in Europe reported that he actually said, “Balls!”. This was published in newspapers as Nuts! because what he really said was too racy for the times. I have never heard this at all. The story has always been “Nuts!” Which flabbergasted the Germans, because “nuts” had no similar slang meaning when translated literally. From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_McAuliffe): **"The choice of ‘Nuts!’ rather than something earthier was typical for McAuliffe. Vincent Vicari, his personal aide at the time, recalled that ‘General Mac was the only general I ever knew who did not use profane language. “Nuts” was part of his normal vocabulary.’ "** ---
**Author:** ![Marlonius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Marlonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlonius)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204/36 "2013-12-14T02:53:47Z")
I remember it being one of my dad’s go-to curses 25+ years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204/37 "2013-12-14T03:51:31Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I have a girlfriend who shouts something even more colorful, “Balls on my chin!” Tell your girlfriend I think she’s a genius. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204/38 "2013-12-17T03:05:45Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I have a girlfriend who shouts something even more colorful, “Balls on my chin!” That’s just going too far. Things may be bad, but they aren’t Family Guy bad. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204/39 "2013-12-17T03:28:31Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver from afc-a) on _Supernatural_ is the only place I’ve heard it; I think he started with “Weekend at Bobby’s” but it could have been before. I’ve never heard it IRL, where there are no censors to worry about and better alternatives abound. Whew, I’m glad I’m not the only one. I thought they made this up for Bobby(oddly enough, played by a former and occasional Doper, Jim Beaver). ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204/40 "2013-12-17T23:37:17Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_York](#): > > In London they use the cockney slang “cobblers” instead. Not in my part of London (south-east, shading into Kent) - I’ve said balls all my life. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-saying-balls-to-express-ones-exasperation-become-a-thing/676204.md?page=3)