Hi, Musket. ;-) I'm not sure where I first heard the term "bollocks", but it was long before I knew about Mudcat. I probably heard it being used by various expatriate Britons in the Toronto folk music scene in the early 70s, I guess. There were a lot of those chaps about, mostly large (fat) men with beards and a strong opinion about bloody well EVERYTHING. Then too, there was the odd skinny and sarcastic one, likewise strongly opinionated. When these gentlemen would get on the subject of Ireland or the British political system, things could get right nasty! I would attempt to slip quietly away at that point....

I have, however, found Mudcat to be a treasure trove of odd British expressions, and I am still busy mining that trove for new gems.

Among them: tosser, wassock (or wazzock), pillock, git, OLD git, wanker, twat, arse, bugger (off), and fecking.

Very expressive terms, I think, and they're quite useful to know.

Here is a British-resident parrot who has this sort of hostile invective absolutely mastered. His English owner is attempting to teach him a few words in French, and the parrot takes offense! The results are quite amusing.