Hogwash

Posted by R. Berg on January 02, 2002

In Reply to: Hogwash posted by sherry on January 02, 2002

: where and why did this word come about? does anyone know?

The Oxford English Dictionary gives this definition for the original and literal sense: "The swill of a brewery or kitchen given to hogs: pig's-wash." First quotation illustrating that sense is dated c. 1440. For the figurative sense, the OED says "Contemptuously applied to weak inferior liquor or any worthless stuff." First quotation for that sense is dated 1712: "Your butler purloins your liquor, and the brewer sells you hogwash" (Arbuthnot).