What it means
Twaddle is daft, empty nonsense dressed up as if it means something. It’s the sort of chat that flaps its gums for ages and still lands nowhere. A very British word, a bit old-school, a bit sharp, perfect when you want to brush off some pompous rubbish without going full rude.
Usage examples
"Do not believe that twaddle about the moon landing being fake, it is utter rubbish."
"The pamphlet through the letterbox this morning was the usual twaddle about the new mayor’s ambitious plans to pedestrianise the high street, three pages of glossy paper and zero concrete dates for the actual work to begin somewhere in twenty thirty."
"He filled three pages with absolute twaddle and still did not answer the question."
"My uncle has been spouting twaddle about cryptocurrency for the whole of Christmas dinner, he heard a podcast in the taxi from Heathrow last Tuesday, and he is now convinced that the family savings should be moved into a token nobody else around the table can pronounce correctly."
"Stop feeding me that wellness twaddle, mate, it's just cucumber water in a fancy bottle."
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Where it comes from
Twaddle is on the record from the late 1700s. It comes from earlier twattle, a word used for silly chatter or trivial talk. By the 1800s it had settled into British English as a neat, slightly old-school put-down for drivel that sounds busy but says sod all.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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