boffo

adj.
Extremely successful; great.

n., pl., -fos.
See boff¹ (sense 3).

[Alteration of BOFF¹.]

(BOF-o)

adjective
1. (Of a movie, play, or some other show) Extremely successful.
2. (Of a laugh) uproarious, hearty.

noun
1. A great success.
2. A hearty laugh.
3. A gag or punch-line that elicits uproarious laughter.

Etymology
Of uncertain origin. Probably a blend of box office or an alteration of buffo, bouffe, or boffola. The term was popularized by Variety, a magazine for the U.S. entertainment industry.

Usage
"And until Apple records a boffo holiday season for the mini, it can't officially be called a runaway success." — Alex Salkever; My Huge Mistake About the Mini; BusinessWeek (New York); Aug 19, 2004.

"His (Patrick Brown's) problem seems to me to be the demands of the production group of which he is a part and which requires a boffo hit every time in order to keep the auditorium packed ..." — Norman Rae; Wheaties & Lilies & Severed P's; Jamaica Observer (Kingston, Jamaica); Aug 1, 2004.

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noun

A dazzling, often sudden instance of success: hit, sleeper. Informal smash, smash hit, ten-strike, wow. Slang boff, boffola. See thrive/fail/exist.