folderol

Noun

folderol (countable and uncountable, plural folderols)

1. (uncountable) Nonsense or foolishness.
   • William Maclay, a Pennsylvania Democrat and a senator, was a watchdog against the development of any monarchial folderol gathering about the office of the president.1978, Page Smith, The Constitution: A Documentary and Narrative History, Morrow Quill Paperbacks, published 1980, page 303
   • [The librarian] rang the bell at nine. I hurried over to Philosophy and grabbed anything. It was another Nietzsche: Man and Superman. I knew that would get her. Before stamping it, she flipped a few pages.
     "My!" she said. "What books you read!"
     I said, "Haw. That's nothing. I never read...1985, John Fante, The Road to Los Angeles

   Synonyms:

   fandangle, foolishness, nonsense

2. (countable) A decorative object of little value; a trifle or gewgaw.
   • And they made a mistake there: the prizes were a lot of folderols and doodads like poetry books and illustrated Testaments, instead of something a real live kid would want to work for, like real cash or a speedometer for his motor cycle.1922, Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, →OCLC, page 215
   • He didn't share Miss Flora's penchant for collecting gaudy, useless knickknacks, and wouldn't have bought any of those foolish, foreign fandangles and folderols if he did have the money to waste.2000, Linda Shertzer, Cassie's Fortune, Jove Books, page 32

   Synonyms:

   bauble, fandangle, gewgaw, trifle, trinket