Eggcorn Forum

“Folderol,” a noun referring to something flimsy, whimsical, pointless, derives from a string of meaningless sounds in an old song chorus. The vector of the word through English is similar to the one taken by “tra-la-la,” which also began as senseless singing syllables and can now be used as a noun to mean an exultation, a commotion.

Dictionaries recognize two spellings, one with Os, one with As: “folderol” and “falderal.” In its earliest written forms, when users were more conscious of its derivation, the word was often hyphenated (e.g., “fal-de-ral”).

The first syllable of the word is sometimes changed into a more recognizable word. “Fallderal” is perhaps the most common misspelling, but it is difficult to see what the semantic bridge between “falderal” and “fall” might be. “Faulderal” also appears, perhaps invoking the semantics of “fault.” One user even manages to squeeze in the word “fowl” ...

Programming forum: “Better yet I would like to stick my foot up Bill Gates ass for not writing PDS 7.1 to compile to windows and we wouldn’t be going thru all this fowlderal !”

but this spelling may be a pun.

A more secure claim for eggcorn status bases itself on the last syllable of the term. Thousands of writers seem to think that the word ends in “-all,” perhaps because the word is often used in inclusive groupings (“all this falderall”).

Two examples:

Tex programming newsgroup post: “I am mystified by all the folderall you caused. ”

Motorcycle forum: “My only other comment is that much of the falderall about these shoes must be getting posted by people that want to sell gear driven cams or conversion kits.”