Balderdash and Piffle is a British television programme on BBC in which the writers of the Oxford English Dictionary asked the public for help in finding the origins and first known citations of a number of words and phrases.
The OED panel consisted of John Simpson, the Chief Editor of the OED; Peter Gilliver, who was also the captain of the Oxford University Press team in University Challenge: The Professionals; and etymologist Tania Styles,[1][2] who also appeared in the "dictionary corner" in Countdown.
Following the conclusion of the first series, a follow-up episode aired on 16 April 2006 with updates on the discoveries members of the public had made, resulting in several further changes to the dictionary.
Victoria Coren was joined by guest reporters who attempted to trace the etymology and first documentary use of words, based on suggestions from the British public.
The two books explore the origins of a number of words in the English language, including randy, shampoo and bouncy castle.