WORD OF THE DAY
Balderdash is something said or written that doesn't make sense, such as a ridiculous claim or a bad argument. In other words, it's complete and utter nonsense.
Balderdash is a fun, somewhat old-fashioned term for "nonsense" or "rubbish." It carries a British, slightly theatrical overtone, and is best used in a light-hearted way for trivial matters. Calling someone's argument "balderdash" feels more like a playful rebuke than a harsh insult. Save weightier terms like fallacy or misinformation for important or professional disputes, as serious concerns deserve a more serious word than balderdash.
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Vocabulary lists containing balderdash
When a respected doctor performs a dangerous experiment on himself, he empowers an evil alter ego who wreaks havoc on London.
Loosely based on the author, the narrator sets out to write a book about his experiences during World War II, but ends up telling about Billy Pilgrim, a soldier who gets "unstuck in time" and travels throughout moments of his life both on Earth and the planet Tralfamadore.
Twelve-year-old Alex volunteers at a senior living facility and meets 107-year-old Josey, who tells Alex his story of surviving the Holocaust. From this, and with the help of a new friend, Maya-Jade, Alex begins to believe that he can "rise to the occasion" of his own life.
In this twist on the musical My Fair Lady that was inspired by George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, Helena Higgins and Penelope Pickering, students at 19th-century London's Royal Academy of Culinaria Artisticus, disagree on whether transforming street vendor Elijah Little into a gentleman chef is a worthwhile project. Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–7, Chapters 8–11, Chapters 12–15, Chapter 16–Epilogue
Thirteen-year-olds Benjamin (the son of runaway slave) and Alvin (the grandson of Irish immigrants) live in different Canadian towns in 1901, but they meet in the woods and end up working together to hunt down the Madman in this companion novel to Elijah of Buxton.
