''Balderdash and Piffle'' is a British

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programme on

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in which the writers of the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

'' asked the public for help in finding the origins and first known citations of a number of words and phrases. Presented by Victoria Coren, it was a companion to the dictionary's Wordhunt project. The '' OED'' panel consisted of John Simpson, the Chief Editor of the ''OED''; Peter Gilliver, who was also the captain of the

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team in '' University Challenge: The Professionals''; and etymologist Tania Styles, who also appeared in the "dictionary corner" in '' Countdown''.

Series 1

The first series of ''Balderdash and Piffle'' was originally broadcast in January 2006.Each programme was based around a letter; the first season covered the letters P, M, N, S, C, and B in that order. Following the conclusion of the first series, a follow-up seventh episode aired on 16 April 2006 with updates on the discoveries members of the public had made, resulting in several further changes to the dictionary.

Series 2

A new Wordhunt began in January 2007 and the results featured in the second series of the programme which premiered on Friday 11 May at 10pm on BBC Two. The second series was divided thematically, with examples such as "Man's best friend" or "Put downs and Insults". Victoria Coren was joined by guest reporters who attempted to trace the

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

and first documentary use of words, based on suggestions from the British public. Victoria Coren then took the evidence they had found to a panel of ''OED'' staff, who decided whether this evidence was sufficient to include in the dictionary.

The books

''Balderdash and Piffle'' is also the name given to two books written by Alex Games. The first, titled ''Balderdash and Piffle'' was published by

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in 2006. A second book, also by Alex Games and published by BBC Books, is titled ''Balderdash and Piffle: One sandwich short of a dog's dinner'' and accompanied the second series of the show. The two books explore the origins of a number of words in the English language, including

randy Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolph, and Miranda, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of them. '' Randi'' is approximat ...

shampoo Shampoo () is a hair care product, typically in the form of a viscous liquid, that is formulated to be used for cleaning (scalp) hair. Less commonly, it is available in solid bar format. (" Dry shampoo" is a separate product.) Shampoo is use ...

and bouncy castle.

References

External links

*
BBC ''Balderdash and Piffle'' site

BBC press release announcing the first series

BBC press release announcing the second seriesOxford English Dictionary's Balderdash and Piffle site

Article in OED Newsletter on ''Balderdash and Piffle'' from the Chief Editor
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120404174911/http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/editions/9781846072352 More information on the ''Balderdash and Piffle'' books* {{Use British English, date=November 2010 2006 non-fiction books BBC Two original programming English etymology 2006 British television series debuts 2007 British television series endings Crowdsourcing Works derived from the Oxford English Dictionary