bugger

Look up bugger in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Bugger is a slang word used in the vernacular British English, Irish English, Australian English, Canadian English, New Zealand English, South African English, Indian English, and occasionally also in Malaysian English, Scots and (rarely) American English. It is derived from buggery, a term originally used to describe either anal intercourse by a man with a man or woman,^[1] or sexual intercourse by either a man or a woman with an animal.^[2] Today, the term is a general-purpose expletive, used to imply dissatisfaction, or used to describe someone or something whose behaviour is in some way displeasing.

Etymology

Etymologically, a "Bugger" was a "Bulgre" (French Bougre). Originally, it was derived from the French word "Bougge­rie" ("of Bulgaria"), meaning the medieval Bulgarian clerical sect of the Bogomils, which, facing severe persecution in Bulgaria, spread into Western Europe, and was branded by the established church as particularly devoted to the practice of sodomy.^[3]

Noun

The word may be used amongst friends in an affectionate way and is used as a vernacular noun in order to imply that one is very fond of something (I'm a bugger for Welsh cakes).^{[citation needed]} It can also imply a negative tendency (He's a silly bugger for losing his keys) [i.e., He's a fool for often losing his keys].^{[citation needed]}

In some English speaking communities the word has been in use traditionally without any profane connotations. For instance, within the Anglo-Indian community in India the word "bugger" has been in use, in an affectionate manner, to address or refer to a close friend or fellow schoolmate. In the United States it can be a rough synonym to whippersnapper as in calling a young boy a "little bugger."^[4]

In 1978 Judge Aubrey Melford Steed Stevenson famously called the British Sexual Offences Act 1967 a buggers' charter.^[5]

The Bugger Factor is another name for the phenomenon of Sod's Law or Murphy's Law: "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong."^{[citation needed]}

Verb

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2009)

As a verb, the word is (potentially accidentally) used by the British to denote sodomy. In the UK, the phrase Bugger me sideways (or a variation thereupon) can be used as an expression of surprise. It can be used as a synonym for 'broken', as in "Damn, this PC's buggered," "Oh no! I've buggered it up," or "It's gone to buggery."

The phrase bugger off (bug off in American English) means to go, or run, away; when used as a command it means "go away" ["get lost" or "leave me alone"] and can be seen to be used in much the same type of relatively softly 'offensive' manner.

"I'm buggered" or "I'll be buggered" is used as a colloquial phrase in the UK (and often in New Zealand and Australia as well) to denote or fein surprise at an unexpected (or possibly unwanted) occurrence. "I'm buggered" can also be used to indicate a state of fatigue. In this latter form it found fame in New Zealand in 1956 through rugby player Peter Jones, who - in a live post-match radio interview - declared himself "absolutely buggered", a turn of phrase considered shocking at the time^[6][7].

It is famously alleged that the last words of King George V were "Bugger Bognor", in response to a suggestion that he might recover from his illness and visit Bognor Regis. Variations on the phrase bugger it are commonly used to imply frustration, admission of defeat or the sense that something is not worth doing, as in bugger this for a lark or bugger this for a game of soldiers.

Interjection

As an interjection, "bugger" is sometimes used as an expletive or interjection.

As with most other expletives its continued use has reduced its shock value and offensiveness, to the extent the Toyota car company in Australia and New Zealand ran a popular series of advertisements where "Bugger!" was the only spoken word (frequently repeated). The term is generally not used in the United States, but it is recognised, although inoffensive there. It is also used in Canada more frequently than in the United States but with less stigma than in other parts of the world. In the pre-watershed Television version of Four Weddings and a Funeral the opening sequence is modified from repeated exclamations of "Fuck!" by Hugh Grant and Charlotte Coleman when they are late for the first wedding to repeated exclamations of "Bugger!".

Derived Terms

Bagarapim

Look up bagarapim in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

"Bagarap" (from "buggered up") is a common word in the Tok Pisin language of Papua New Guinea, meaning "broken," "hurt" or "tired", as in "kanu i bagarap", "the canoe is broken" or "kaikai i bagarap", "the food is spoiled." "mi bagarap pinis" ("me buggered up finish") means, "I am very tired," or "I am very ill." The 'a' is pronounced long, like the a in 'father'.^[8] The term was put to use in the album Bagarap Empires by Fred Smith, which was made to capture the peace process in Bougainville, an island province of Papua New Guinea; in a number of the songs he uses Melanesian pidgin, the language used in Bougainville and elsewhere.

Bugger about

to mess around, to do something ineffectively. ^[9]

Bugger All

Look up bugger all in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Bugger all means "nothing" as in You may not like paying taxes, but there's bugger all you can do about it.

Bugger Me

The phrase "Bugger Me" is a slang term used to describe a situation that his either yielded an unexpected or undesirable result. The term is made famous by an Australian television advertisement featuring a farmer using his new Toyota Hilux for various farming jobs, often with unexpected results. Youtube is worth a search.

Bugger Off

Look up bugger off in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The phrase "bugger off" is a slang or dismissive term meaning "leave". It is sometimes written as "Bugger Orf".

Buggery

Look up buggery in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The word 'buggery' today also serves as a mild expletive and can be used to replace the word 'bugger' as a simple expletive or as a simile as in the phrase It hurts like buggery or in apparently meaningless phrases such as Run like buggery, largely equivalent to Run like hell.

Notes

See also

• Buggery
• Buggery Act 1533