be (nothing but) footle
footle 作不可数名词，指毫无意义的空话，多用来评价言论或文字，通常不接冠词。
The whole report was nothing but footle.
整份报告尽是些胡言乱语。
胡说；愚蠢；废话；傻话；愚蠢的做法；呓语
胡说；愚蠢
nonsense; foolishness.
Stop talking footle and give me the real answer.
别胡说八道了，给我真正的答案。
用法提示：footle 为名词，作 talking 的宾语，意为“胡说”。
The teacher told us that the essay was full of footle.
老师告诉我们那篇作文里满是蠢话。
用法提示：footle 为不可数名词，作 full of 的介词宾语，指“废话”。
His so-called theory is pure footle.
他那所谓的理论纯粹是胡说。
用法提示：footle 为名词，作表语，意为“愚蠢的话”。
footle 作不可数名词，指毫无意义的空话，多用来评价言论或文字，通常不接冠词。
The whole report was nothing but footle.
整份报告尽是些胡言乱语。
常用 dismiss/denounce sth as footle 的结构，表示把某说法判定为胡说。
Reviewers dismissed the theory as footle.
评论者把这一理论斥为无稽之谈。
可与 a lot of、loads of 等量词连用，但不用 a footle 或 footles。
There was a lot of footle in his speech.
他的演讲里有很多废话。
grammar · medium
易错句子Don't listen to him; that's just a footle.
正确表达Don't listen to him; that's just footle.
footle 表示“胡说、蠢话”时是不可数名词，指抽象的言语内容，因此不能加不定冠词 a/an，也没有复数形式。汉语说“一句胡说”时带数量感，但英语里这层限定由 this、that、such 等词承担，不能改用 a。
grammar · medium
易错句子You're a footle if you believe that.
正确表达You're a fool if you believe that.
footle 只能作名词表示“胡说、蠢话”，不能用来指人；指“傻瓜、傻子”须用 fool。两词拼写接近，学习者常把 footle 误当作 fool 使用，但本句主语是人，表示“人是傻瓜”只能用 fool。
foolery 多指看得见的具体傻行为或胡闹，常带戏谑口吻，可数性灵活；footle 是书面、偏老旧的不可数名词，只指“胡说、愚蠢”这一抽象概念本身，不指某件具体举动。
tomfoolery 强调一连串荒唐举动，重心在行为，日常仍在使用；footle 几乎只作书面抽象名词，指“废话、愚蠢”，现代英语中已极少出现，二者不可互换。
baloney 是口语词，尤常见于美式英语，带明显驳斥、否定的语气，用于否定别人的说法；footle 中性、书面且过时，今天表示“胡说”日常应说 baloney 或 nonsense，而不是 footle。
footle + -ing (e dropped)
Choose the next layer that will help you use footle with more confidence.
Recommended next
Missing: Collocations
Complete this area with collocations.
Includes Context & register & Memory tip
Analyze the context and learn memory tricks to remember it.
More ways to explore
Includes Synonyms & Antonyms
Expand your vocabulary with synonyms and antonyms.
Includes Spelling & sound
Explore words with similar spelling endings or sounds.
Includes Word components & Thematic vocabulary
Learn how to build related words using roots, prefixes, and thematic clusters.
Includes Idioms & Cultural references
Discover idioms, slang, and famous pop culture quotes.
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY, WORDNET.