How to Use "Bollocks" in English

- (sighs) So, two things:

One, bollocks is very British.

Americans don't use this word,

and if they do, it sounds weird.

And two, is it a swear word?

Yes and no.

If you think it's a swear word, it is.

If you think it's fine, then it's fine.

It just depends on who you say it to, so be careful.

Like, once when I was a kid in school,

I said bollocks in front of my teacher,

and she gave me a bollocking for it.

I thought it was fine, she didn't.

Personally, I use this all the time as an exclamation,

like if I'm surprised or shocked,

or if something bad happens, like this:

My memory is rubbish.

So if my friend asks me, "Hey,

did you remember to buy Tom a birthday present?

Because today's his birthday."

This is usually my reaction.

Bollocks, no.

Yeah, when something bad happens.

When you trip, when you hurt yourself,

when you forget something important,

good word to use.

Bullocks or any of the bad words,

but just remember, that is a British word,

Americans don't use it.

But maybe the most common way that we use it is

to say that you are lying,

I don't believe you, like this:

For example, she is telling him that she saw

his girlfriend with another guy the night before,

but he doesn't believe her.

So he can say this.

Bullocks.

Again, it's just an exclamation,

but this time you're saying, "You're lying."

Or, "I don't believe you."

A basic sentence could be, that's bullocks,

but let's add some very common words

that go very well before bollocks

to give this more flavor.

That's utter bollocks!

You wanna stress that word.

That is utter bollocks!

See, it sounds way stronger, sounds really cool.

You should try it, you should try it.

And yeah, you could also say,

"That's a load of bollocks."

"That's complete bollocks."

"That's absolute bollocks."

See, it just adds more emphasis,

it adds more (lips smacking) flavor to your sentence.

And those words,

they just mix really, really well with bollocks.

You can also use bollocks to say,

"You're lying" or, "I don't believe you."

With a kind of tag, like a question tag,

but it's not a question.

Let me show you.

So he doesn't believe that she saw this happen.

That's what he doesn't believe.

So he could say, "Bollocks, did ya!"

Did ya, did you, did you, connected speech

is explained in another video,

but just know the grammar,

because this is a past tense verb,

and because we don't believe her.

"Bollocks did you!"

I don't believe that you did.

I think you need another example.

"Really, I'm being honest."

If you wanna say, "I don't believe

that you are being honest."

What do you think it is?

Bollocks are you, you're never honest!

So just match the verb.

Quick example with a modal verb.

Can you lend me a fiver?

Yeah, sure.

Ah, thanks, I'll pay you back tomorrow, yeah?

Bollocks will you.

I don't believe you will.

Bollocks will you?

But, like I said, this doesn't work

if you don't believe a negative.

For example.

"Dude, I'm not lying."

Remember, this is a negative,

so how do we use that with a tag?

Bollocks aren't you?

No, that doesn't work.

Remember this doesn't work with a negative.

So how can you use it?

Boop.

"Dude, I'm not lying."

Bollocks, that's bollocks, that's utter bollocks,

that's complete bollocks, that is absolute bollocks.

(sighs) Sorry, am I talking too much?

I feel like I'm talking too much.

Yeah, listen, mate.

Enough with the bollocks, yeah?

Just teach me English.

When you use it as a noun here:

This bullocks, you're talking bollocks,

or enough with the bollocks.

Yes, you could be talking about someone lying all the time,

but it could also mean in this context

that what the person is saying isn't

important or interesting.

Basically, you don't want to listen to any more of it.

When you do something wrong,

like you arrived to class or to work late,

and your teacher or your boss shouts at you

or reprimands you, tells you off,

you can use the word bollock as a verb,

to bollock someone,

or as a noun to get a bollocking,

or to give a bollocking,

depending on who you are in this situation.

For example, if that is me, and usually it is,

I might say to you later on, "Oh my God,

I was late to work and my boss gave me a bollocking."

A bollocking, that's the noun form.

A bollocking.

Also, you could make this sound a bit more British

and more flavorful by adding right.

She gave me a right bollocking.

That sounds strong and very British.

So if you want to sound all natural and British,

that's a great expression to use

the next time someone shouts at you

for doing something wrong.

How about the verb?

At work today, I got absolutely bollocked,

or I got completely bollocked.

Remember, there's a very common word

that we use with bollocks.

Now, grammar nerds, you will notice

that to give someone a bollocking

that's the noun form.

Give a bollocking, get a bollocking,

or as the verb form to bollock someone.

She bollocked me, (laughing) sounds so stupid.

Or I got bollocked, that's the passive voice.

Check out the passive if you're not really clear on it.

Another way we use bollocks is to say,

This is the best thing ever."

But be careful.

When you say that, use the word the.

For example, oh my God, have you seen Hamilton?

I saw it in theater today,

it is the bollocks.

It is the absolute bollocks.

or it was the dog's bollocks.

It's fun to say, but not very common to hear,

but, weirdly, when you remove the,

now you're describing something bad,

like bad quality or no value.

For example, there's a lot of bollocks on YouTube,

but Ali is the bollocks, you should follow him.

Did you notice?

With no the, it's bad.

With the, it's the best thing ever.

With that in mind, let's do a test.

For example.

Oh, you just saw that new movie at the cinema?

How was it? Was it good?

It was bollocks.

Did he mean the movie was the best movie

or a rubbish movie?

(timer ticking)

Of course, rubbish, because he said,

"The movie was bollocks."

Not, "The bollocks."

The makes a big difference.

Now, literally the word bollocks is

a slang word for testicles.

Like, hi, hey, my flies are undone?

Can you see my bollocks?

Sorry.

(pants zipping up)

And also we use it to say,

if you have large testicles, you're brave.

Pretty dumb, but it's an expression, so let's learn it.

Let's imagine he is brave enough

to ask out this girl that he really, really likes.

You wanna go out sometime?

Yeah, you need confidence and bravery to ask someone out.

So maybe his friends who are watching, they could say this:

"Wow, I can't believe he had the bollocks to ask her out.

Brave guy."

Notice the form.

You have the bollocks to do something.

You are brave enough to do something.

An example of a negative with this could be

I don't have the bollocks to, I don't know, go skydiving.

I'm completely fine never going skydiving.

And finally, if you want to say

that someone is completely naked, no clothes,

in a emphasized way, funny way,

you could say they are stark bollock naked.

Literally meaning their bollocks are showing.

Now, yes, that means testicles,

but if you use this for a woman too is fine,

it's not meant to be accurate.

It's just a dumb expression that's funny, that's it.

Okie-dokie, test time.

Answer these three questions in the comments

using bollocks in the correct way.

Question one, what have you done wrong at school,

at work, with your parents, that you got a bollocking for?

Tell me in the comments.

Number two, when was the last time

you told someone that you thought they were lying?

What did you say?

What happened?

And number three, what was the last movie

that you saw in the cinema or Netflix, wherever?

What did you think of it?

Was it good?

Was it bollocks?

Or was it the bollocks?

Let me know in the comments,

and I'll see you in the next class.

(gentle music)