A frequently given etymology, although widely rejected as a folk etymology, derives it from Hiram Codd, British soft drink maker of the 1870s, known for the eponymous Codd-neck bottle, with the suggestion that codswallop is a derisive term for soft drinks by beer drinkers, from Codd's + wallop (“beer (slang)”) “Codd's ...

What is the origin of the saying codswallop?

First attested in 1959, codswallop appears to be a relatively young term, perhaps originating from from wallop (beer), and cod in one of its various senses, perhaps “testicles.” (As in a codpiece.) A 1966 citation in the Oxford English Dictionary spells it cod's wallop.

What does Expression Codswallop mean?

One of the words in the appeal (and later in the series) was codswallop, which had made its first appearance in the OED in the supplementary volume published in 1972, in which it was recorded as a slang word meaning 'nonsense, drivel'.