cobblers
cobblers Lexical Profile
cobblers Game Scores & Validity
• noun
People whose trade is making or repairing shoes and other footwear (plural of cobbler).
"In the nineteenth century, several skilled cobblers operated workshops along the cobbled high street."
British Nonsense, rubbish, or foolish talk (used as an uncountable noun in informal contexts).
"Everything he said about the company's sudden recovery was a load of old cobblers."
Baked deep-dish fruit desserts topped with a thick crust of biscuit dough, batter, or pastry (plural of cobbler).
"The bakery is famous for its warm peach and blackberry cobblers served with vanilla ice cream."
• interjection
British Used as an exclamation to express strong disbelief, dismissal, or contempt for something considered untrue or foolish.
"Cobblers! You never met the Prime Minister at the supermarket."
Word Nuance & Usage
Although originating in Cockney rhyming slang for 'testicles', the uncountable noun and interjection 'cobblers' are now widely used in informal British English as mild, relatively inoffensive expressions meaning 'nonsense'.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
The slang sense meaning 'nonsense' is a mid-20th-century shortening of the Cockney rhyming slang phrase 'cobbler's awls', which rhymes with 'balls' (testicles).