Codswallop

Codswallop [kodz-wol-uh p] Spell Syllables Examples Word Origin noun, British Slang. 1. nonsense; rubbish. Origin of codswallop

Piffle

Piffle Utter crap that people utter or express..much like nonsense..rubbish and Bull which is completely superficial and non relevant to anything interesting. "Did see Debbie's status update on facebook the other day?"  "Yeah, don't people talk a load of piffle"

Sweet Fanny Adams

Fanny Adams - little or nothing at all; "I asked for a raise and they gave me bugger-all"; "I know sweet Fanny Adams about surgery" bugger all, fuck all, sweet Fanny Adams

flat out

flat out adv. Informal 1. In a direct manner; bluntly: told me the truth flat out. 2. At top speed: running flat out. 

Bugger all

Bugger all Sometimes hyphenated. A British expression meaning "nothing." I know precisely bugger all about nuclear thermodynamics. 

Cut to the chase

Cut to the chase . to focus on what is important; to abandon the preliminaries and deal with the major points. All right, let's stop the idle chatter and cut to the chase. After a few introductory comments, we cut to the chase and began negotiating.

Terra cotta

(from the Latin terra cotta), a type of earthenware, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic, where the fired body is porous.Its uses include vessels (notably flower pots), water and waste water pipes, bricks, and surface embellishment in building construction, along with sculpture such as the Terracotta Army and Greek terracotta figurines. The term is also used to refer to items made out of this material and to its natural, brownish orange color, which varies considerably. In archaeology and art history, "terracotta" is often used to describe objects such as figurines, not made on a potter's wheel. Objects made on a wheel from the same material, are called pottery; the choice of term depends on the type of object rather than the material.[citation needed]  Contents  [hide]  1 Production and properties 2 History 3 In art history 4 In chemistry 5 Advantages in sculpture 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Production and properties[edit]  Terracotta figures made during Gupta dynasty. An appropriate refined clay is formed to the desired shape. After drying it is placed in a kiln or atop combustible material in a pit, and then fired. The typical firing temperature is around 1,000 °C (1,830 °F). The iron content gives the fired body a yellow, orange, red, "terracotta", pink, grey or brown color. Fired terracotta is not watertight, but surface-burnishing the body before firing can decrease its porousness and a layer of glaze can make it watertight. It is suitable for in-ground use to carry pressurized water (an archaic use), for gardenware or building decoration in tropical environments, and for oil containers, oil lamps, or ovens. Most other uses, such as for tableware, sanitary piping, or building decoration in freezing environments, require the material to be glazed. Terracotta, if uncracked, will ring if lightly struck. Some types of terracotta are created using recycled terracotta ("grog").  History[edit] Terracotta was the only ceramic produced by Western and pre-Columbian people until the 14th century, when European higher fired stoneware began production. Terracotta has been used throughout history for sculpture and pottery as well as for bricks and roof shingles. In ancient times, the first clay sculptures were dried (baked) in the sun after being formed. They were later placed in the ashes of open hearths to harden, and finally kilns were used, similar to those used for pottery today. However, only after firing to high temperature would it be classed as a ceramic material.  In art history[edit] Terracotta female figurines were uncovered by archaeologists in excavations of Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan (3000-1500 BC). Along with phallus-shaped stones, these suggest some sort of fertility cult and a belief in a mother goddess.[7] The Burney Relief is an outstanding terracotta plaque from Ancient Mesopotamia of about 1950 BC.  The ancient Greeks' Tanagra figurines were mass-produced mold-cast and fired terracotta figurines. Significant uses of terracotta have included Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Terracotta Army of China, built in 209–210 BC.  Precolonial West African sculpture also made extensive use of terracotta.[8] The regions most recognized for producing terracotta art in that part of the world include the Nok culture of central and north-central Nigeria, the Ife/Benin cultural axis in western and southern Nigeria (also noted for its exceptionally naturalistic sculpture), and the Igbo culture area of eastern Nigeria, which excelled in terracotta pottery. These related, but separate, traditions also gave birth to elaborate schools of bronze and brass sculpture in the area.  French sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse made many terracotta pieces, but possibly the most famous is The Abduction of Hippodameia depicting the Greek mythological scene of a centaur kidnapping Hippodameia on her wedding day. American architect Louis Sullivan is well known for his elaborate glazed terracotta ornamentation, designs that would have been impossible to execute in any other medium. Terracotta and tile were used extensively in the town buildings of Victorian Birmingham, England.  In chemistry[edit] In chemistry, pieces of terracotta are used as a heterogeneous catalyst[clarification needed] to "crack" long-chain alkanes. This process is useful for obtaining products, such as gasoline or petrol, from less useful ones, such as highly viscous long chain alkanes.[citation needed]  Advantages in sculpture[edit] As compared to bronze sculpture, terracotta uses a far simpler process for creating the finished work with much lower material costs. Reusable mold-making techniques may be used for series production. Compared to marble sculpture and other stonework the finished product is far lighter and may be further glazed to produce objects with color or durable simulations of metal patina. Robust durable works for outdoor use require greater thickness and so will be heavier, with more care needed in the drying of the unfinished piece to prevent cracking as the material shrinks. Structural considerations are similar to those required for stone sculpture.

  Terracotta Army in Xi'an, China  Terracotta designs outside the Kantajew Temple, Dinajpur, Bangladesh  Glazed building decoration at the Forbidden City, Beijing, China. Terracotta, terra cotta or terra-cotta (Italian: "baked earth",[1]