horlicks

1. (chiefly British) A hot bedtime drink made with malted milk.Examples: "When the theatres turned out, people flocked back for their Horlickses and cocoas. Because of the summer visitors, we were open till one o'clock in the morning."; "Kathy, drinking Horlicks and laughing about the impossibility of custard (she could not cook – she could not even stir), and obsessive about everything, found out for me that Dylan Thomas had invented a fantasy[…]"; "It did seem very odd though, drinking Horlicks in the middle of the day. From then on, first thing in the morning, after all meals, and last thing at night, Ruth made me a big mug of Horlicks. Every day, Horlicks. All day, Horlicks."Britishcountableuncountable

2. (chiefly UK, slang, euphemistic) Bollocks, a mess or balls-up.Examples: "McDonald & Dodds is back, with episode one so deliberately hammy and meta that, technically, it should have been a complete horlicks. In one scene, when they were all hanging on to the balloon ropes, Mr Bean-like, to stop Jason Watkins flying away, it sort of was."Synonyms: hash, mess-up, muddleUKcountableeuphemisticslanguncountable

3. (chiefly UK, slang, euphemistic) Bollocks, nonsense, false statements.Examples: "As sleep patterns come unstuck and more and more people complain of not getting enough shuteye, so businesses have spotted an opportunity. […] And beware any consumer product which claims it will transform your slumber: it’s probably a load of Horlicks."; "“I don’t condone any abuses of human rights anywhere. But if we’re not condoning human rights abuses anywhere, I wouldn’t even be able to perform in my kitchen.” Which is total Horlicks, clearly, but did at least bless us with this cheering reply: “Robbie, what are you doing in your kitchen?”"Synonyms: absurdity, all my eye, all my eye and Betty Martin, applesauce, bafflegab, balderdash, balls, baloneyUKcountableeuphemisticslanguncountable