Balderdash and Piffle

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Balderdash and Piffle
Format	Etymology documentary
Picture format	720x576 (anamorphic 16:9)
Run time	60 Minutes
Creator(s)	BBC
Starring	Victoria Coren et al.
Channel	BBC Two
Production company	Takeaway Media
Air dates	2 January 2006 – 16 April 2006
No. of episodes	6 (+1 follow-up)

Balderdash and Piffle is a British television programme made by the BBC. Presented by Victoria Coren, it is a companion to the Oxford English Dictionary's Wordhunt, in which the writers of the dictionary asked the public for help in finding the origins and first known citations of a number of words and phrases. Each programme features several words starting with the same letter, and for each, a guest reporter attempts to trace its etymology and first documentary use, based on suggestions from the British public. Victoria Coren then takes the evidence they have found to a panel of Oxford English Dictionary staff, who decide whether this evidence is sufficient to include in the dictionary.

The OED panel consisted of John Simpson, the Chief Editor of the O.E.D., Peter Gilliver, who was also the captain of the Oxford University Press team in University Challenge - the Professionals, and Tania Styles, who has also appeared in "dictionary corner" in Countdown.

Following the conclusion of the main series, a follow-up episode aired on 16 April 2006 with updates on the discoveries members of the public have made, resulting in several further changes to the dictionary.

[edit] Book

**Balderdash & Piffle**
Author	Alex Games
Cover Artist	Smith & Gilmour, London
Language	English
Subject(s)	Etymology
Publisher	BBC Books
Released	2006
Media Type	Print (Hardback)
Pages	304
ISBN	0563493364

Balderdash and Piffle is also the name of a book written by Alex Games and published by BBC Books in 2006. This is loosely related to the TV series, and explores the origins of a number of words in the English language.