Bugger

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For the alien species in Ender's Game, see Formics.

Bugger is an expletive used in vernacular British English, South African English, Australian English, New Zealand English and Sri Lankan English. When used in context it still retains its original meaning, implying sodomy (see buggery).

1 History
2 Usage
3 Use in popular culture
4 See also

[edit] History

Etymologically, a "Bugger" was a "Bulgre" (French Bougre) -- Originally, it was derived from the word "Bulgarian", meaning the medieval Bulgarian sect of the Bogomils, which spread into Western Europe and was branded by the established church as particularly devoted to the practice of sodomy.

Today, the term is a general-purpose expletive, used to imply dissatisfaction (bugger, I've missed the bus [i.e. Darn it, I've missed the bus!], or used to describe someone whose behaviour is in some way displeasing (the bugger's given me the wrong change).

The word is also used amongst friends in an affectionate way (you old bugger) and is used as a noun in Welsh English vernacular to imply that one is very fond of something (I'm a bugger for Welsh cakes). It can also imply a negative tendency (He's a silly bugger for losing his keys) [i.e He's a fool for losing his keys often]. A colloquial phrase in the north of England (and often in New Zealand and Australia as well) to denote faint surprise at an unexpected (or possibly unwanted) occurrence is "Bugger me, here's my bus".

[edit] Usage

The word 'buggery' serves a similar purpose 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. The past tense is also used as a synonym for 'broken', as in "Damn, this PC's buggered" or "Oh no! I've buggered it up".

The phrase bugger off means to run away [Let's bugger off out of here]; when used as a command it means "go away" ["piss off", "get lost" or "leave me alone"], which is generally considered one of the more offensive usage contexts. Bugger all means "Nothing" [I got bugger all for it]. The Bugger Factor is another phrase to describe the phenomenon of Sod's Law or Murphy's Law. In the UK, the phrase Bugger me sideways (or a variation thereupon) is sometimes used as an expression of surprise.

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 tin soldiers.

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. 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. There are yet other English speaking communities where the word has been in use traditionally without any profane connotations whatsoever; 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.

[edit] Use in popular culture

Captain Jack Sparrow says "bugger" on several occasions in the film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
Joe Sullivan (aka. Sky Captain) exclaims "bugger" after flying into a dead-end street in the film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
In the 1997 James Cameron movie Titanic, lookout Frederick Fleet exclaimed "Bugger me!" on sighting the iceberg. Ironically, this was seconds after declining an offer (made in jest) by fellow lookout Reginald Lee that they canoodle to keep warm.
The last line in the album The Wall by Pink Floyd, specifically, in the song "Outside the Wall" is: "After all its not easy, Banging your heart against some mad bugger's wall". Also, a line from "Pigs on the Wing 1", from Animals says: "Wondering which of the buggers to blame". The song Sheep also has a line using the word bugger; "Then we'll make the bugger's eyes water"
Dominic Monaghan's character Charlie Pace uses the word "bugger" on a couple of occasions during the first and second seasons of the TV Series Lost.
'Unlucky' Alf, a character from the UK TV show The Fast Show, has the catchphrase of Aww, Bugger!.
Buggers is the name of an old 2D arcade game.
Rather surprisingly for a Mario Game, Super Mario RPG has an instance one of the antagonists, Croco, calling Mario a "Persistent Bugger".
The phrase has also been used in one of the Top Gear shows talking about the strength and toughness of the old series of Toyota Hilux. A short funny clip about a New Zealand farmer using the car for multiple purposes was shown at the beginning. The guy used the phrase several times due to the awful occasions happened after his foolish actions. When the ad was first shown in the late 1990s, complaints were made to New Zealand's Advertising Standards Complaints Board about the use of the word "bugger" in the ad. The Board declared that the use of the word bugger was "unlikely to cause serious or widespread offense" and so "bugger" became "officially not a swear word" in New Zealand.
The word was used at the very end of the Monty Python sketch, the The Spanish Inquisition, as the Spanish Inquisition moves into the court room, Cardinal Ximinez comes in the door and says, "Nobody expects the Sp...oh, bugger."
In yet another Monty Python production, Life Of Brian, during the ending song (Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life), the crucified Brian is ironically told to 'Cheer up, you old bugger! Come on, give us a grin!"
Lastly, in the movie Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, the "Galaxy Song" ends with, "And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space,/ 'Cause there's bugger all down here on Earth."
In Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens, a common expression is "Bugger all this for a lark!"
In Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, the character Foul Ole Ron's catchphrase is, "Bugrit, millennium hand an' shrimp..."
In Orson Scott Card’s popular novel Ender’s Game, the word “bugger” is common slang for a race of alien invaders, more properly known as “The Formics”.
In the 2006 movie, The Holiday, Kate Winslet's character says "Bugger" after mistakenly talking to Cameron Diaz's character instead of Jude Law.
Actor Hugh Grant says "bugger" a lot in many of his movies.
Captain Jack Swallows, a parody of Captain Jack Sparrow, says "bugger" when he is stabbed by the White Bitch in Epic Movie.
Professor Bernice Summerfield is quite fond of the word bugger, and has a tendency to say it many times in a row, for example, "Bugger bugger bugger bugger bugger bugger bugger!!"
In the final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, "Goodbyeee", Captain Darling (played by Tim McInerney), having been sent to the front against his will for the "Big Push", tells Blackadder, "There's only one word in my diary today. Just says....'Bugger'."
Found enscribed on a tombstone ("Now bugger off") in Fable in Oakvale.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llareggub