"Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die."
- Hagrid, speaking of You-Know-Who (PS4)
"Codswallop"
- Vernon Dursley (OP2)
Definition
British slang term for nonsense, untruths.
The origin of the term 'codswallop' is unclear. One popular theory is that "it is thought to come from the inventor of a new kind of bottle in the late 19th century. The inventor's name was Hiram Codd and the bottle had a small ball (rather like a marble) as a stopper which one had to strike smartly (or wallop) in order to get at the drink - hence Codd's Wallop - Codswallop!" (contributed by Dr. Matthew J. Williamson, University of Brighton). However, there is no evidence for this theory and it is considered unlikely as it is implausible that the phrase could have been in popular circulation since 1870 (when the bottles were developed) but not written down until 1959, which is the earliest example of its use in print. (The Phrase Finder)
