malarkey
noun

- insincere or foolish talk

- meaningless talk; nonsense

- exaggerated or foolish talk, usually intended to deceive

Merriam-Webster, Oxford Languages, American Heritage Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

The etymology of "malarkey" (also spelled "malarky") is somewhat uncertain, which is rather fitting for a word that means "nonsense" or "foolish talk."

The word appears to have emerged in North American English in the 1920s. Its first documented appearance is from 1922 in an Alberta, Canada newspaper. However, its exact origin is debated.

Some suggest it comes from the Irish surname "Mullarkey" or "Malarkey," though there's no clear evidence connecting the name to the meaning.

Interestingly, the word gained renewed attention in American political discourse during the 2012 U.S. vice presidential debate when Joe Biden used it repeatedly.

Despite its uncertain origins, "malarkey" has remained a colourful and enduring term for "nonsense" or "bunk" in English, particularly in American and Irish English usage.

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IN SEARCH OF TRUTH

In these times where misinformation travels at the speed of light and algorithms amplify what's sensational over what's sound, finding truth is one of our greatest challenges.

It’s rather a bit like marine navigation: we need multiple reference points, reliable instruments, and the knowledge to know when we’re off course.

And there are two other considerations: (1) Complex issues rarely have simple explanations, so it’s wise to be wary of those who offer easy answers, and (2) Our own biases; being susceptible to confirming what we already believe and dismissing what challenges our worldview.

Here’s our own 12-point “What-Is-Truth” (WIT) checklist. Maybe you’ll find it useful too:

☐ Seek primary sources
☐ Consult multiple viewpoints
☐ Watch out for emotional manipulation

☐ Understand the context
☐ Ask “Who benefits?”
☐ Ask “What evidence supports this?”
☐ Ask “What would disprove it?

☐ Realise there’s (much) more to this than meets the eye

☐ Realise that my own intuitions about this issue might be wrong

☐ Check for consistency across different reliable sources
☐ Look for expert consensus (while remaining aware that consensus can change)
☐ Give weight to predictions that prove accurate over time

Helga & Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS

a bunch of hot air, abracadabra, absurdity, applesauce, babble, balderdash, baloney, bilge, blah, blah-blah, blarney, blather, bombast, bosh, bull, bunk, bunkum, claptrap, codswallop, drivel, eyewash, falsehood, fiddle-faddle, fiddlesticks, fishy business, flam, flapdoodle, flimflam, foolishness, fudge, full of it, garbage, gibberish, gimcrackery, gobbledygook, guff, hocus-pocus, hogwash, hokum, hooey, horse feathers, horseradish, hot air, humbug, jiggery-pokery, jive, kibosh, load of bunk, MALARKEY, malarky, moonshine, mumbo jumbo, nonsense, nuts, phooey, piffle, poppycock, prattle, quackery, rigmarole, rot, rubbish, shady business, shenanigans, silliness, smoke and mirrors, snake oil, spinach, stuff and nonsense, tall tale, tomfoolery, tommyrot, tosh, trash, trickery, tripe, trumpery, twaddle, valleyhoo, waffle, whitewash, wishywashy, word salad

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“I can't stand all the MALARKEY in the news these days.”

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Why Support OWAD?

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