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)

(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.
(literally) A mixture of solid and liquid food scraps fed to pigs; swill. [from mid 15th c.]
Synonyms: slop, slops, swill

Synonyms

(foolish talk): See Thesaurus:nonsense

Related terms

pigwash
pigswill from swill
See Derived terms of wash

Translations

nonsense

Bulgarian: глу́пости (bg) f pl (glúposti)
Dutch: prietpraat (nl) m
Finnish: pötypuhe (fi), hölynpöly (fi)
French: baratin (fr) m, boniment (fr) m
German: Quatsch (de) m, Unsinn (de) m

Greek: κουραφέξαλα (el) n pl (kouraféxala)
Portuguese: disparate (pt) m
Russian: бред си́вой кобы́лы (ru) m (bred sívoj kobýly) (lit.: delirium of a grey mare), вздор (ru) m (vzdor), ерунда́ (ru) f (jerundá), глу́пости (ru) f pl (glúposti), фигня́ (ru) f (fignjá) (slang)
Spanish: tonterías (es) f pl

scraps fed to pigs

Bulgarian: помия (bg) f (pomija)

Russian: помо́и (ru) f pl (pomói)