🗣️ Nonsense talk 🤥 A small lie

tarradiddle

9.9

Untrue or silly talk that is not important

noun
/ˌtɛrəˈdɪdəl/

Archaic

: tontería

"What complete tarradiddle!" Caroline pushed her soup away and rang the bell for the butler to remove it.

Examples

Her speech was filled with tarradiddle, making it hard for anyone to take her seriously.
I can't believe he wasted an hour on that tarradiddle instead of focusing on the real issues.
All of which fustian tarradiddle convinces me that I should get to the point.

Blog text (4)
That story about winning the lottery was just a tarradiddle to impress her friends.

Synonyms

baloney

vstarradiddle

Informal

48 7.5

Talk that is not true or is silly

is slightly more pretentious or showy rather than simply false

poppycock

vstarradiddle

Informal

10 9.9

Silly talk that is not true

is more about pretentious triviality than outright absurdity

tosh

vstarradiddle

Slang

6 9.9

Silly talk or ideas that are not true

is more playful and old-fashioned rather than plain everyday nonsense

twaddle

vstarradiddle

Archaic

5 8.6

Silly, unimportant talk that has no meaning

leans more toward foolish pretence rather than innocent trivial talk

bosh

vstarradiddle

Archaic

5 9.6

Talk or writing that is silly and not true

is similar but the key stresses trivial showy talk more often

balderdash

vstarradiddle

Informal

3 8.9

Silly talk or ideas that are not true

leans more toward affectation and trivial pretence than blunt nonsense

piffle

vstarradiddle

Informal

3 9.9

Talk that is silly and unimportant

is more about pretence or affectation rather than mere triviality

folderol

vstarradiddle

Archaic

3 9.9

Silly talk that wastes time

focuses more on pretence and show than mere fussing

horse pucky

vstarradiddle

Archaic

1 9.9

Talk that is not true or is silly

is the more playful or affected expression rather than plain slang

falderal

vstarradiddle

Archaic

1 9.9

Foolish talk or ideas that are unimportant and silly

is closer to affected pretentious nonsense rather than simple silliness

trumpery

vstarradiddle

Archaic

1 9.9

Worthless or silly talk that has no useful ideas

is less about showiness and more about foolish pretence

fiddle-faddle

vstarradiddle

Archaic

1 9.9

Silly, unimportant talk that wastes time

is more pretentious in tone rather than merely small or silly

argle-bargle

vstarradiddle

Archaic

1 9.9

Loud, silly talk that has no useful meaning

is quieter, more pretentious nonsense rather than loud disputing talk

bilgewater

vstarradiddle

Offensive

1 9.9

Silly or false talk that people should not trust

is closer to light, trivial talk rather than literary rubbish

tommyrot

vstarradiddle

Archaic

1 9.9

Silly or untrue talk that people should not believe

is slightly more pretentious or affected than plain absurd talk

taradiddle

vstarradiddle

Archaic

9.9

Silly talk that makes little sense

is the variant with two r letters in some usages

boloney

vstarradiddle

Informal

8.8

Talk that is silly and not true

is the same idea but may carry more casual insult tone

prittle-prattle

vstarradiddle

Archaic

9.7

Light talk about unimportant, silly things people say

is used for more affected or showy nonsense rather than simple chatter

sottise

vstarradiddle

Archaic

9.9

A silly action or remark that shows little thought

is broader, covering ongoing pretentious or trivial talk rather than a single remark

Antonyms

truth

∞ 1.0

A fact that shows how things really are

seriousness

53 2.7

A calm and honest way of speaking or acting that shows you mean what you say

How Nonsensical

gibberish

45 7.2

balderdash

Informal

3 8.9

tarradiddle

Archaic

9.9

twaddle

Archaic

5 8.6

Surface Forms

tarradiddle singular

tarradiddles plural

Etymology

The word tarradiddle probably began as a playful mix of a nonsense sound tarra- and the word diddle, which means 'to fool' or 'cheat'. A helpful way to remember it is to picture someone 'diddling' with words, saying small, silly things that are not important, which is why tarradiddle means foolish or empty talk.