yarbles

English

Alternative forms

• yarblockos

Etymology

Yarbles was coined by Anthony Burgess in 1962, when he introduced it within the invented slang Nadsat found in his dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange. The word is generally understood to be a derivation from Russian яблоко (jabloko, “apple”), owing to the variant form "yarblockos" used within the same novel. Jabloko does not have the equivalent vulgar connotation among Russian speakers, although яйца (jajca, literally “eggs”) does, which may have influenced the word. Green's Dictionary of Slang posits possible alternate origins as yarb +‎ balls: a combination of the antiquated, sometimes-derogatory English dialect word yarb with the vulgar colloquialism balls. Others have suggested a connection, via the methods of English rhyming slang, to marbles.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈjɑː(ɹ)bəlz/

Noun

yarbles pl (normally plural, singular yarble)

1. (slang, vulgar) Testicles.
   • 1962, Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange, 1st edition, London: William Heinemann, page 16:

     "Come and get one in the yarbles, if you have any yarbles, you eunuch jelly, thou."

   • 1988 March, Ed Naha, “1987: The Movies”, in Science Fiction Chronicle, volume 9, number 6, New York: Algol Press, →ISSN, page 40:

     I mean, who could ever forget the touching moment in [The] Monster Squad when a pre-teenager kicks the Wolfman in the nuts and utters the classic line "The Wolfman has yarbles!"

     Naha misquotes the line from The Monster Squad, which had used a different slang word with the same meaning: "Wolfman's got nards!"

2. (slang, mildly vulgar, figurative, uncountable) Courage, fortitude, or machismo.

   Synonyms: (vulgar) balls, (vulgar) bollocks, (vulgar) cojones, guts, nerve, chutzpah; see also Thesaurus:courage

   • 2010, David Macinnis Gill, Black Hole Sun, 1st pbk. edition, New York: Greenwillow Books, published 2012, →ISBN, page 142:

     "I'm not worried. This kid's got giant yarbles."
     "Giant yarbles make bigger targets," I say. "Maybe he ought to wear more than a loincloth."
     Ockham laughs. Slaps me on the back. "Didn't know you had a sense of humor, chief."

3. (slang, mildly vulgar, euphemistic, uncountable) Nonsense; something of unacceptably poor quality.

   Synonyms: bollocks, horseshit; see also Thesaurus:nonsense

   • 2017 September 25, Helen Shaw, “A Clockwork Orange”, in Time Out‎^[1], New York:

     Well, my droogs, this is a load of yarbles. Right now at New World Stages, a risible British adaptation of A Clockwork Orange is doing a bit of the old ultraviolence to its audience.

4. (slang, mildly vulgar, euphemistic, uncountable) Information that is false or otherwise misleading.

   Synonyms: bollocks, bullshit, misinformation

   • 1999 August 1, “Pandora”, in The Independent‎^[2], London:

     James Brown looked a tool on C4's Withnail Weekend. Brown's crew at Loaded was credited with inventing the Withnail drinking game "I Demand to Have Some Booze". Utter yarbles. Fact: the game, where viewers simultaneously enjoy beverages identical to those consumed by characters on screen, was introduced by a journalist on the Evening Standard's London Life section in the mid-1980s.

Interjection

yarbles

1. (colloquial, euphemistic, possibly vulgar) Expressing disgust, annoyance, frustration, or disapproval.
   • 1996, Robert Swindells, Last Bus, London: Puffin Books, published 2001, →ISBN, pages 53–54:

     "God knows, does He?" grinned Andy, unfazed. "Why hasn't He struck me dead then, kiddo?"
     Chris looked at him. "Just because He hasn't yet doesn't mean He won't. I hope I'm not standing next to you when it happens, that's all."
     "Yarbles!"

   • 1999, Marjorie Dorner, Seasons of Sun & Rain: A Novel, 1st edition, Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions, →ISBN, page 96:

     "Oh, yarbles," Micky whispered. "This really is a bitch, isn't it?"

Anagrams

• barleys