boffo

English

Etymology

Entertainment industry slang; possibly from box office or buffo. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɒfoʊ/

• Audio (AU)

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Adjective

boffo (comparative more boffo, superlative most boffo)

1. (chiefly US, slang) Outstanding; very good or successful.

   Synonyms: boff, clicko

   • a. 1969, John Kennedy Toole, A Confederacy of Dunces, Penguin, published 1981, →ISBN:

     “Come on, Lana. Give me and the bird a chance. We're boffo.”

   • 2022 December 22, Peter Rainer, “Beyond the blockbusters: The 10 best films of 2022”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

     And if the Hollywood stuff didn’t grab you, you could glom onto “RRR,” S.S. Rajamouli’s phenomenally successful Raj-era Indian action epic that, for sheer boffo exuberance, outdid anything the studios churned out this year.

   • 2023 June 21, Julia Jacobs, “A Britney Spears Jukebox Musical Hopes for #SeeBritney Energy”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     With a track list stacked with hits such as “Stronger,” “Toxic” and “Circus,” the show has the potential for boffo success, but it also faces unique challenges.

Noun

boffo (plural boffos)

1. (chiefly in the world of entertainment) A great success; a hit.

Further reading

• Jonathon Green (2024) “boffo adj.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang
• Eric Partridge (2005) “boffo”, in Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor, editors, The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, volumes 1 (A–I), London, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 213.