balls about

English

Alternative forms

• balls around

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Verb

balls about (third-person singular simple present ballses about, present participle ballsing about, simple past and past participle ballsed about)

1. (chiefly British, vulgar, slang) To engage in a lot of activity with many unwanted or unnecessary details.
   • 1957, Reports of the Institute of Community Studies - Volume 2:

     This is just comfortable. I don't want no ballsing about with rows and noise in flats.

   • 1977, J. M. Henegan, Pulse, page 80:

     All that ballsing about for nothing.

   • 1990, Padraig O'Malley, Biting at the Grave, page 98:

     If we can render them [ICJP] ineffective now, then we leave the way clear for a direct approach without all the ballsing about.

2. (chiefly British, vulgar, slang) To bullshit; to speak or act as a joke or with no real point.
   • 2003, Sam Millar, On the Brinks, →ISBN, page 271:

     'You're on the front page of the Irish News.' 'Are you ballsing about?'