malarkey
adjective

- exaggerated or foolish talk, usually intended to deceive

(American Heritage Dictionary)

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ORIGIN

American English, of unknown origin; perhaps from Greek μαλακία (malakía, “stupidity, idiocy, nonsense, bullshit”). Popularized by Thomas Aloysius Dorgan, Irish American cartoonist who started using MALARKEY in cartoons on March 9, 1922, the same year as the words: expense account, pie chart, and underfinanced

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SYNONYMS

balderdash, baloney, bilge, blarney, blather, bosh, bull, bunk, bunkum, claptrap, drivel, fudge, hogwash, hokey-pokey, hokum, hooey, humbug, humbuggery, moonshine, nonsense, patent nonsense, prattle, piffle, poppycock, rot, rubbish, senselessness, silliness, stupidity, tommyrot, trash, trumpery, twaddle

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TALKING POINT

One of the major impacts of the Internet is the speed at which new cultural developments are propagated. There's even a word for it: going viral, as in caused by a virus. A South Korean hip-hop artist becomes an overnight sensation by inventing a (relatively) silly dance routine.

For those of us interested in languages, the Internet has a great upside. All of the major English dictionaries devote resources to keeping up with new terms and expressions, an almost daily task these days. But apart from bringing us new ones, the New Media can also highlight relatively unknown words or revive outdated ones.

In October 2012, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard went on a rampage in parliament, accusing the opposition leader of being a misogynist. Internet users around the world immediately stormed the online dictionaries to find out what a misogynist is (a man who hates women).

In the same month, U.S vice president Joseph Biden responded to a statement by his Republican opponent during an election debate by saying, "With all due respect, that's a bunch of MALARKEY." Although the context was clear, even some native speakers, especially the younger generation, were forced to google (a new synonym for search) the word. Suddenly, an outdated expression regains popularity, and in this case MALARKEY bounces back into the language.