Definition

Noun: 1. Testicle: One of the two male reproductive glands, located in the scrotum, responsible for producing sperm and the hormone testosterone. This is a coarse, informal, and primarily British slang term.

Usage Notes

• Register: The word "ballock" is highly informal and vulgar. It is considered offensive in polite or formal contexts.
• Regional Use: It is more commonly used in British English than in American English.
• Typical Context: It is used in very casual, often aggressive or crude speech. It is not appropriate for academic, professional, or general polite conversation.

Examples

• He was hit in the ballocks during the fight.
• (Vulgar expression) "He doesn't have the ballocks to confront her." (Figurative use implying courage).

Advanced Usage

• "To have the ballocks to do something": A vulgar idiom meaning to have the courage or audacity to do something.
  • He didn't have the ballocks to admit he was wrong.
• "Bollocking" (noun, derived): A severe reprimand or telling-off.
  • The manager gave the team a right bollocking after the failed project.

Variants and Related Words

• Bollock (noun): The more common spelling variant of "ballock".
• Bollocks (noun, plural, also used as singular mass noun):
  • The testicles.
  • (British exclamation) Nonsense, rubbish. "That's a complete load of bollocks!"
• Testicle (noun): The standard, formal, and medical term.
• Testis (noun): The formal or biological term.

Synonyms

• Testicle (formal/medical)
• Testis (formal/biological)
• Gonad (biological, can refer to male or female)
• (Slang, vulgar): Nut, ball

Phrasal Verbs / Related Phrases

• To bollock (someone) (verb, British, vulgar): To reprimand someone severely.
  • His dad bollocked him for crashing the car.

Related Idioms

• "Bollocks to that!" (British exclamation, vulgar): An expression of strong dismissal or refusal.
  • Work on the weekend? Bollocks to that!
• "The dog's bollocks" (British slang, vulgar): An idiom meaning "the best" or "excellent."
  • This new car is the dog's bollocks.

Noun

1. one of the two male reproductive glands that produce spermatozoa and secrete androgens
   • she kicked him in the balls and got away