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''Balderdash and Piffle'' is a British
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
programme on
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in which the writers of the ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
'' asked the public for help in finding the origins and first known citations of a number of words and phrases. Presented by
Victoria Coren
Victoria Elizabeth Coren Mitchell (' Coren; born ) is a British writer, TV presenter and professional poker player. Coren Mitchell writes weekly columns for '' The Telegraph'' and has hosted the BBC television quiz show '' Only Connect'' since ...
, it was a companion to the dictionary's
Wordhunt
Wordhunt was a national appeal run by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', looking for earlier evidence of the use of 50 words and phrases in the English language. New evidence found by members of the public in response to the appeal appears in the ...
project.
The ''
OED
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...
'' panel consisted of
John Simpson, the Chief Editor of the ''OED'';
Peter Gilliver
Peter Gilliver (born 14 June 1964) is a lexicographer and associate editor of the Oxford English Dictionary.
Career
Gilliver's parents were both linguists. He attended Barnard Castle School, and has a degree in Mathematics from Jesus College, ...
, who was also the captain of the
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
team in ''
University Challenge: The Professionals''; and
etymologist Tania Styles,
who also appeared in the "dictionary corner" in ''
Countdown
A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
''.
Series 1
The first series of ''Balderdash and Piffle'' was originally broadcast in January 2006, each programme being based around a letter. Following the conclusion of the first series, a follow-up episode aired on 16 April 2006 with updates on the discoveries members of the public had made, resulting in several further changes to the dictionary.
Series 2
A new
Wordhunt
Wordhunt was a national appeal run by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', looking for earlier evidence of the use of 50 words and phrases in the English language. New evidence found by members of the public in response to the appeal appears in the ...
began in January 2007 and the results featured in the second series of the programme which premiered on Friday 11 May at 10pm on BBC Two.
The second series was divided thematically. Victoria Coren was joined by guest reporters who attempted to trace the
etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
and first documentary use of words, based on suggestions from the British public. Victoria Coren then took the evidence they had found to a panel of ''OED'' staff, who decided whether this evidence was sufficient to include in the dictionary.
The books
''Balderdash and Piffle'' is also the name given to two books written by
Alex Games
Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis.
People
Multiple
*Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people
*Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people
*Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple peop ...
. The first, titled ''Balderdash and Piffle'' was published by
BBC Books
BBC Books (also formerly known as BBC Publishing) is an imprint majority-owned and managed by Penguin Random House through its Ebury Publishing division. The minority shareholder is BBC Studios, the commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasti ...
in 2006. A second book, also by Alex Games and published by BBC Books, is titled ''Balderdash and Piffle: One sandwich short of a dog's dinner'' and accompanied the second series of the show.
The two books explore the origins of a number of words in the English language, including
randy
Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of the ...
,
shampoo
Shampoo () is a hair care product, typically in the form of a viscous liquid, that is used for cleaning hair. Less commonly, shampoo is available in solid bar format. Shampoo is used by applying it to wet hair, massaging the product into the ...
and
bouncy castle
Bounce or The Bounce may refer to:
* Deflection (physics), the event where an object collides with and bounces against a plane surface
Books
* Mr. Bounce, a character from the Mr. Men series of children's books
Broadcasting, film and TV
* ''B ...
.
References
External links
*
BBC ''Balderdash and Piffle'' siteBBC press release announcing the first seriesBBC press release announcing the second seriesOxford English Dictionary's Balderdash and Piffle siteArticle in OED Newsletter on ''Balderdash and Piffle'' from the Chief Editor*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120404174911/http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/editions/9781846072352 More information on the ''Balderdash and Piffle'' books*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balderdash And Piffle
2006 non-fiction books
BBC Television shows
English etymology
2006 British television series debuts
2007 British television series endings
Crowdsourcing
Works derived from the Oxford English Dictionary