What does bollox mean?
"Bollox" is a vulgar British slang word with two principal meanings: literally, the testicles, and figuratively, utter nonsense or rubbish. In everyday speech it is overwhelmingly used in the figurative sense, appearing in expressions such as "a load of bollox", "talking bollox", or "that's complete bollox", all signalling dismissive contempt for something untrue, badly done, or ridiculous. It can also function as a verb — "to bollox something up" means to bungle or ruin it, making it a rougher synonym of "mess up" or "botch". The more common spelling is "bollocks"; American English has its own variant, "bollix". The word derives ultimately from Old English "beallucas", sharing a root with "ball". Because of its crudeness, it belongs firmly to casual conversation and comedy rather than professional writing, yet its expressive force has made it a durable fixture of British vernacular — famous enough that a legal dispute over the Sex Pistols' 1977 album title helped cement its place in cultural history.
The testicles; by extension, nonsense or worthless talk.
"His explanation of where the money went was pure bollox."
In the anatomical sense it normally appears in the plural form "bollocks"; in the nonsense sense it functions as an uncountable mass noun.
To botch, ruin, or make a mess of something.
"They completely bolloxed the launch by sending the emails to the wrong list."
Usually used in the construction "bollox up" or with the past participle "bolloxed".
In the anatomical sense the plural form "bollocks" is itself the usual shape of the word; as a countable plural it is rare. In the nonsense sense the word is used as an uncountable mass noun and takes no plural.
"That's another load of bollox from the press office."
When the Sex Pistols released "Never Mind the Bollocks" in 1977, British shops that displayed the album were threatened with prosecution under obscenity laws — until linguists argued the word could simply mean 'nonsense', helping the band win the ensuing court case.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bollox
The word traces back to Old English "beallucas", meaning testicles, which shares a Germanic root with "ball". It survived through Middle English into modern British slang, where it developed a figurative sense of "nonsense" alongside its literal anatomical meaning. The spelling "bollocks" is now standard, with "bollox" a less common variant and American English adopting the form "bollix".
Related word forms
How bollox is actually used
Strongly vulgar and informal; avoided in polite or formal contexts. The spelling "bollocks" is far more common than "bollox". When referring to nonsense it typically appears in mass-noun phrases like "a load of", "a bunch of", or "talking bollox".
Easily confused with bollox
"Bollix" is chiefly an American variant spelling of the same word (also spelled "bollix up" meaning to mangle or botch), while "bollox/bollocks" is the standard British spelling.