“What does a tosh look like?” Elon Musk took to Twitter on Thursday to respond to a British government minister who called on him to step in after falsely claiming he had resigned. An email masquerading as the official account of the Northern Ireland Office was sent to newspapers on Wednesday night, claiming that Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland Secretary, had resigned. “I have been honored to serve as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. However, for personal reasons I am stepping down from my role,” he said. Earlier on Wednesday, Heaton-Harris delayed calling an election in Northern Ireland, a reversal from earlier vows to call a referendum that has hurt his credibility. The Northern Ireland Office issued a swift statement saying the resignation claim was false. Heaton-Harris followed with his own rebuttal. “This is completely untrue. I hope one of @elonmusk’s first moves is to stamp out fake news on Twitter… Very exciting I know, but complete and utter tosh.” Hello Twitter! Someone sent a fake e-mail to news outlets saying I’ve resigned. This is completely untrue. I hope one of @elonmusk’s first moves is to eliminate fake news on Twitter… Very exciting I know, but complete and utter tosh. — Chris Heaton-Harris MP (@chhcalling) November 9, 2022 Musk, who bought Twitter last month, responded with his question about what tosh is. It earned 2,000 likes in two hours. Twitter users were left to guess whether Musk was mocking the minister, making a weird joke, or genuinely asking the meaning of the word. The Concise Oxford Dictionary says tosh is a noun from informal British English meaning ‘rubbish. nonsense’, of unknown 19th century origin. The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary online says it refers to “ideas, statements or beliefs that you think are silly or not true”. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The Collins dictionary says that tosh has an additional meaning in American English that means “tidy. arrange’, or as a transitive verb meaning ‘to make neat or orderly’. Musk grew up in South Africa before moving to Canada and the US. After Musk’s cryptic response to Heaton-Harris, Twitter users offered their own definitions. “A slightly rougher form of piffle. It’s no different from a piglet,” said one. “Very similar to cod,” said another. One posted a photo of Scottish footballer Tosh McKinlay. A parody account called ‘Chris no-Heaton-Harris’, which adds a mustache to the minister’s photo, responded to Musk. “Hello Elon! Heard on Twitter Space yesterday. Interesting things.” Other Twitter users noted that Musk is not checking emails and urged the minister to tweet less and focus more on day-to-day work in Northern Ireland. “How would anyone notice if you quit?” said one.
