flapdoodle

English

Alternative forms

flamdoodle, flap-doodle, flap doodle, doodleflap, flipdoodle

Noun

flapdoodle (countable and uncountable, plural flapdoodles)

(uncountable) Nonsense.
Synonyms: see Thesaurus:nonsense
- 1834 [1832], Frederick Marryat, chapter 28, in Peter Simple‎^[1]:
  ‘The gentleman has eaten no small quantity of flapdoodle in his lifetime.’ ‘What’s that, O’Brien?’ replied I. ‘Why, Peter,’ rejoined he, ‘it’s the stuff they feed fools on.’
- 1974, Bagpuss (TV series):
  Fiddlesticks and flapdoodle
- 2006 October 7, Nicholas Lezard, “In bed with Tracey Emin”, in The Guardian‎^[2], →ISSN:
  Why, with my sternest critic's pencil in my hand, its lead as black as my heart, did I not write the word “flapdoodle” in the margin at that point?
- 2007, The Times‎^[3]:
  It is not worth falling into dispute over such a flapdoodle of a vestimentary matter.
(countable) Thingamabob.
- 1929, Lisgar Collegiate Institute, Vox Lycei 1928-1929, page 43:
  Then there was the noble but unseen army of perspiring heroes who wrestled with furniture and wings and other flapdoodles behind the curtain.
- 1999, American Theatre - Volume 16, page 17:
  What other playwright would dare populate his plays with space aliens, dancing plates and spoons, vampires, girl huns, mystic furballs and bodacious flapdoodles?
- 2008, Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society:
  Suppose you invent a flapdoodle. The flapdoodle can be any color, but your "preferred" flapdoodle is colored red.
(countable) A speaker or writer of nonsense.
- 1893, Annie Besant, Annie Besant: An Autobiography, page 363:
  Here, So-and-so ”—to some one on whose countenance a faint gleam of comprehension was discernible—“ tell these flapdoodles of the ages what I mean.”
- 1895, St. Martin's-le-grand - Volume 5, page 102:
  As for the others, no one cares a brass farthing what Olcott and his "flapdoodles" may do or say.

Translations

nonsense — see nonsense

Verb

flapdoodle (third-person singular simple present flapdoodles, present participle flapdoodling, simple past and past participle flapdoodled)

To con; to deceive with nonsense.
- 1911, The Conservator - Volumes 22-24, page 28:
  Now, however the innocents may be flapdoodled by such jugglery the guilties remain undeceived.
- 1988, British Homing World - Volume 61, page 35:
  Whilst acknowledging the accolade and honour, I wasn't happy and 'flapdoodled' to try and get out of it.
- 2014, Mike Ashley, The Mammoth Book of Awesome Comic Fantasy:
  This Vok, or Cole, undoubtedly flapdoodled the witnesses into thinking he was skinny then flipped open his false hump and let the demoniacal pixie out to do its fell business.