Firewater Friday . . . What a load of codswallop

Codswallop . . . it’s kind of a funny word.  Commonly defined as meaning ‘drivel or nonsense’, it seems innocuous enough.  However, as my British-born matey defines it, it may not be as unsullied as it would seem. 

Before I get into the more tainted etymology, I’ll start with the more frequently touted (albeit unproven) explanation of the origins of the word.

In the late 1800 there was an Englishman named Hiram Codd whose livelihood was the making of soft drinks.  Hiram invented a process for bottling lemonade wherein a glass marble was inserted into the neck a bottle. When the bottle was shaken the resulting pressure from the carbonation forced the marble against a rubber washer in the neck to form a seal.  This container was logically named Codd Bottle.

 

Wallop is a long used British vernacular for beer.  Imagine the bar hugging, beer chugging lushes of a local English pub disdainfully mocking the bottled soft drinks calling the fizzy drink Codd’s wallop. It's not a stretch to see how ‘Codd’s wallop’ could have come to be ‘codswallop’ and the resulting word referring to anything considered to be rubbish.

That seems reasonable, no?

Well, not according to my chum Robert who hails from merry ol’ England.    I will put this as delicately as I can in an effort to not be overtly offensive in describing his explanation of ‘codswallop’. 

Cods is an old term for  . . . uhm . . . manjigglies.  It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon meaning of cod which is a bag.    I hope you see where I’m going with this. 

Wallop is associated with the . . . uh . . . emission from the . . . er . . .  tally-whacker extension of the kerbangers.

Oy, so there you have it . . . codswallop.

The most likely explanation is that it is a made up nonsense word that just sounds right for its meaning.

A load of codswallop . . . uhm . . . ew?

Flapdoodle is another silly word meaning pretty much the same thing as codswallop.  Again it’s probably just an arbitrary formation of syllables; however flapdoodle is recorded as being the vernacular in eighteenth century for the male and female naughty bits.  Just sayin’ . . .

Now on to the firewater . . .

Orgasm

1 1/2 Oz. Vodka

1 1/2 Oz. Triple Sec

Splash Lime Juice

1/2 Tsp Fine Sugar

7up / Sprite / Lemon-Lime Soda

In the glass, dissolve sugar in lime juice.  Nearly fill glass with ice.  Add Vodka, Triple sec, then fill with soda

 

Screaming Orgasm

1 Oz Coffee Liqueur

1 Oz Grand Marnier

1 Oz Irish Cream Liqueur

Pour the liqueurs into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.

Shake well.

Strain into cocktail glass.

 

This post is dedicated to my Brit bud Bobby . . . he’s a hoot.