Wordhunt
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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 Oxford English Dictionary. The appeal is a companion to the BBC2 television series Balderdash and Piffle.
First Wordhunt[]
The first Wordhunt was launched in 2005 by the Oxford English Dictionary and the BBC and resulted in the OED updating the entries of 34 words and phrases, featured in the first series of Balderdash and Piffle broadcast in early 2006.
The 50 words and phrases were:
- balti
- Beeb
- bog standard
- bonk
- bouncy castle
- boffin
- bomber jacket
- Crimble
- chattering classes
- codswallop
- cyberspace
- cyborg
- ditsy
- dosh
- full monty
- gas mark
- gay
- jaffa
- Mackem
- minger
- minted
- moony
- mullet
- mushy peas
- naff
- nerd
- nip and tuck
- nutmeg
- Old Bill
- pass the parcel
- pear-shaped
- pick 'n' mix
- ploughman's lunch
- porky
- posh
- square one (back to...)
- ska
- smart casual
- something for the weekend
- tikka masala
Second Wordhunt[]
The second Wordhunt was launched in January 2007, and the results featured in a second series of Balderdash and Piffle, which was broadcast in Spring 2007.
The forty words and phrases, divided into six themes, are:
Man's Best Friend
- (1961)
- the dog's bollocks (1989)
- (1984)
- shaggy dog story (1946) *
- (1984)
Put Downs and Insults
- (1966)
- prat (1968) *
- (1977)
- wally (1969)
- wazzock (1984)
- domestic (1963)
- glamour model (1981)
- loo (1940) *
- regime change (1990)
- (1973)
X Rated
- dogging (1993) *
- kinky (1959)
- marital aid (1976)
- pole dance (1992)
- wolf-whistle (1952)
One Sandwich Short
- bananas (1968) *
- bonkers (1957) *
- daft (or mad) as a brush (1945) *
- duh brain (1997)
- one sandwich short of a picnic (1993)
Who Were They?
- Bloody Mary (1956) *
- Gordon Bennett (1967) *
- Jack the Lad (1981)
- round robin (1988)
- take the mickey (1948) *
Dodgy Dealings
- bung (1958) *
- Glasgow kiss (1987)
- identity theft (1991)
- spiv (1934) *
- twoc (1990)
External links[]
- Series 1 from the OED
- Wordhunt from the OED
- Balderdash and Piffle from the BBC
- Crowdsourcing
- English etymology
- Oxford English Dictionary
- Germanic language stubs