Revised as of
22 Oct 2022
I keep running across this word confusion in J.D. Robb’s In Death series, and I thought ballocks to that! I’ve screwed up in the past on what I thought was right versus what was actually right. And I’ve learned to check the dictionary(!) before I say bollocks to that . . . *grin* . . .
In this case, I’m definitely right. The only time you can exclaim Bullocks! is if you see some, and you’re excited about seeing some young bulls. And I don’t mean hunky young studs!
Word Confusions started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end. Consider sharing this Word Confusion with friends by tweeting it.
Ballocks / Bollocks | Bullocks |
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Part of Grammar: | |
Exclamation 1; Noun 2; Verb, transitive 2
Noun singular: ballock, bollock Third person present verb: ballocks, bollocks |
Noun
Noun plural: bullocks Also used as a noun modifier |
Chiefly British
Exclamation: Rubbish; nonsense 1 Noun: Verb, transitive: |
Castrated steer
Young bull |
Examples: | |
Exclamation: Ballocks to that! Bollocks, mate! Noun: But, if the ballocks be marred, the whole race of human kind would forthwith perish, and be lost for ever” (Rabelais). Verb, transitive: Watch your step, Mikey. Ma’s ballocking Sean something fierce. |
That’s a mighty fine bullock you’ve got there, Jonas.
We’ll need a team of some twenty bullocks to pull this wagon. Bullocks make for a steady draught animal. We’ll need to train these bullocks up for dragging logs down the hills. Bullock yokes have been used to haul buckets of milk and water. A bullock whip can be used to kill. |
Derivatives: | |
Noun: bullocky, bullwhacker | |
History of the Word: | |
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Its first known use was before the 12th century.
Middle English ballok from the late Old English bulluc or bealluc, a diminutive of bula, which is from the Old Norse boli. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Ballocks or Bollocks versus Bullocks
Apple Dictionary.com
Dictionary.com: ballocks
Rabelais , François. Gargantua and Pantagruel. e-artnow, 2020. <https://amzn.to/3CWPKRM>.
Pinterest Photo Credits
The Cow Pushing the Decorated Cart by Chad Rosenthal from Jerusalem, Israel, is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.