A taradiddle is a petty lie or fib. It can also mean ‘pretentious nonsense’.
The first recorded use is thought to be late 18th century. The origin of the word appears to be unknown, but it could be related to diddle meaning ‘to cheat or falsify’.
There is an apparent myth that taradiddle came into usage because of the town of Taradiddle in Ireland. There is no such place, and the myth is therefore a taradiddle itself. I believe there is a Taradiddle Lane in Cornwall, Connecticut, but it’s a bit hard to see on Google Maps.
Potterheads might recognise a variation of the word. Cornelius Fudge says it when he dismisses Harry’s story of a Dementor attack:
“We haven’t got time to listen to more tarradiddles, I’m afraid, Dumbledore.” Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J. K. Rowling.
Sources:
Hannah McCall 
[…] Taradiddle. The interesting word with an origin story that illustrates its meaning. Managing to incorporate Harry Potter into the post was a bonus. […]
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LOVE this!!!
xox
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Thanks! 🙂
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Great information…not to be confused with a paradiddle which is one of the basic rudiments for playing the drums.
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No. But handy to know if you want a word to rhyme with it. 🙂
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Good one. Reminds me of another word, fiddle-faddle, which means trivial matter or nonsense.
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Yes! I wrote a post on fiddle-faddle: https://proofreaderhannah.com/2015/09/25/fiddle-faddle/
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Hah! So you did. I even “liked” it. 😉
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I did notice that. 😉
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Reblogged this on steviawithcream and commented:
I have found a wonderful new word to use when talking about politics. It is all taradiddle. Great post.
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Thank you very much! 🙂
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ooo, what a delicious word! Is this similar to balderdash and piffle?
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Yes, I believe they are considered synonyms (they all have the meaning of ‘nonsense’).
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Love your posts! Love this word!!
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Thanks! The sentiment is mutual. 🙂
And me too – I think taradiddle needs to be used more often!
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