"A load of old cobblers" and variants such as "what a load of cobblers" or just "cobblers!" is British slang for "what nonsense" that is derived from the Cockney rhyming slang for "balls" (testicles), which rhymes with "cobbler's awls". The phrase began to be widely used from the 1960s and is still in use but has become less offensive over time as its origins have been forgotten.

Origins

The phrase originated as

Cockney rhyming slang Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhymi ...

where "cobblers" refers to

cobbler Cobbler(s) may refer to: *A person who repairs shoes * Cobbler (food), a type of pie Places * The Cobbler, a mountain located near the head of Loch Long in Scotland * Mount Cobbler, Australia Art, entertainment and media * ''The Cobbler' ...

's awls which rhymes with "balls" (

testicles A testicle or testis ( testes) is the gonad in all male bilaterians, including humans, and is homologous to the ovary in females. Its primary functions are the production of sperm and the secretion of androgens, primarily testosterone. The ...

), as in the exclamation " Balls!" for "Nonsense!". The use of the rhyme allows a taboo word, in this case the vulgar exclamation "balls!", to be avoided. The use of "cobblers" as a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

for balls dates back to at least the 1930s.

Contemporary use

The term "load of old cobblers" and similar variants only gained wide currency from the 1960s, for instance in

British sitcom A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television. British sitcoms have predominantly been recorded on studio sets, while some include an element of location filming. Live audiences and multi-camera ...

s such as ''

Steptoe and Son ''Steptoe and Son'' is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in 26a Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC in black a ...

'' (1962–74) which featured two rag-and-bone men based in west London. It has also been exported to Australia and other countries to which the British have migrated and according to Collins became popular with the

tabloid press Tabloid journalism is a popular style of largely sensationalist journalism, which takes its name from the tabloid newspaper format: a small-sized newspaper also known as a half broadsheet. The size became associated with sensationalism, an ...

Eric Partridge Eric Honeywood Partridge (6 February 1894 – 1 June 1979) was a New Zealand–United Kingdom, British lexicography, lexicographer of the English language, particularly of its slang. His writing career was interrupted only by his service in the ...

and his successors mention that the phrase and its cousin "cobblers to you!" is often used by people unaware of its vulgar origins and has become less offensive.Partridge, Eric, & Paul Beale (Ed.) (1984)
A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English
'. 8th edition. Abingdon: Routledge. p. 691. . Partridge suggests that a comparison with "cod's wallop" (complete rubbish) is inevitable. In 2016, Sir James Dyson said that concerns that Britain's international trade would be damaged by Brexit were "absolute cobblers". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' used the phrase in 2018 to describe comments made by the sports coach Eddie Jones, saying "Nice try, Eddie, but what a load of old cobblers." In February 2019, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' used it in a comparison of beauty products, saying "Whether or not you think crystals are a load of old cobblers, I guarantee you'll fall hook line and sinker ..." It has also been used as a pun in a headline after builders covered

cobbles Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Setts, also called ''Belgian blocks'', are often referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct from a ...

with asphalt. In the TV series ''

Yes Minister ''Yes Minister'' is a British political satire sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn. Comprising three seven-episode series, it was first transmitted on BBC2 from 1980 to 1984. A sequel, ''Yes, Prime Minister'', ran for 16 episodes f ...

'', the term was used in the episode "Equal Opportunities" where the characters are describing what code to use on a letter - "CGSM. It stands for Consignment of Geriatric Shoe Manufacturers. Load of old cobblers, Minister."https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751809/quotes/?ref_=tt_trv_qu IMDb

References

External links

{{Wiktionary inline, cobblers British English idioms British slang

Origins

Contemporary use

See also

References

External links