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.
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
handbags at dawn
her indoors
jaffa
Mackem
made-up
minger
minted
moony
mullered
mullet
mushy peas
naff
nerd
nip and tuck
nit nurse
nutmeg
Old Bill
on the pull
pass the parcel
pear-shaped
phwoar
pick 'n' mix
ploughman's lunch
pop one's clogs
porky
posh
square one (back to...)
ska
smart casual
snazzy
something for the weekend
to throw one's toys out of the pram
tikka masala
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
dog and bone (1961)
the dog's bollocks (1989)
mucky pup (1984)
shaggy dog story (1946) *
sick puppy (1984)
Put Downs and Insults
plonker (1966)
prat (1968) *
tosser (1977)
wally (1969)
wazzock (1984)
Spend a Penny
domestic (1963)
glamour model (1981)
loo (1940) *
regime change (1990)
whoopsie (1973)
Fashionistas
flip-flop (1970)
hoodie (1990)
shell-suit (1989)
stiletto (1959)
trainer (1978)
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)
