What it means
Nonsense, hot air, or needless fuss. Call something malarkey when someone’s spinning a story, selling you a dodgy excuse, or making a simple job a paperwork circus. It sounds old-school and a bit polite, but it still lands like a slap. Often linked with Irish and Irish-American speech, and now you’ll hear it pretty much everywhere.
Usage examples
"Three forms and a meeting with Accounts just to order toner? Ah here, that’s pure malarkey. I’ll nip to the shop myself."
"He gave me some malarkey about the train being cancelled, but I saw him roll in at noon, no rush."
"Enough of this malarkey with the forms, just tell me where to sign and let me get on with my day."
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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