hogwash

English

Etymology

From Middle English *hoggewasch (found only as Middle English hoggyswasch (“refuse of the kitchen for feeding pigs”, literally “hog's wash”)), equivalent to hog +‎ wash.

Pronunciation

  • Audio (US)(file)

Noun

hogwash (uncountable)

  1. (informal, figuratively) Foolish talk or writing; nonsense.
    Synonym: nonsense
    • 2016, T. Colin Campbell; Thomas M. Campbell, The China Study: Revised and Expanded Edition, BenBella Books, Inc., page 214:
      We have more faith in the average American than that. It’s not true that Americans love hogwash— it’s that hogwash inundates Americans, whether they want it or not! Some Americans want the truth— they just haven’t been able to find it because it is drowned out by hogwash.
  2. (literally) A mixture of solid and liquid food scraps fed to pigs; swill. [from mid 15th c.]
    Synonyms: slop, slops, swill

Synonyms

  • (foolish talk): For semantic relationships of this sense, see nonsense in the Thesaurus.

Translations

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