Word of the Day

: December 14, 2007

folderol

noun FAHL-duh-rahl

What It Means

1 : a useless ornament or accessory : trifle

2 : nonsense

folderol in Context

Cherie dismissed the tabloid article as useless folderol.

Did You Know?

Hogwash. Claptrap. Hooey. Drivel. Malarkey. English is rife with words that mean "nonsense," and "folderol" is one of the many. Though not the most common of the words for nonsense, it's been around since 1820 and is still heard today. "Folderol" comes from "fol-de-rol" (or "fal-de-ral"), which used to be a nonsense refrain in songs, much like "tra-la-la." The oldest recorded instance of someone "singing folderol" occurs in Irish dramatist George Farquhar's 1701 play Sir Harry Wildair, in which a character sings, "Fal, al, deral!"

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.