badmind

Jamaican Creole

Alternative forms

• badmine, bad mine, bad mind, bad-mind

Etymology

Compound of bad (“evil”) +‎ mind (“mind”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbad ˈmaɪn/
• Hyphenation: bad‧mind

Adjective

badmind

1. envious, jealous (envious)

   Yuh too badmind.

   You're such an envious person.

   • 1989, Stephen Slemon, Helen Tiffin, After Europe: Critical Theory and Post-colonial Writing, →ISBN, page 56:

     “[...] puss an dawg no have di same luck , an me no waan nobody seh a bad mind me bad mind mek me a ask dem ya lickle question. ”

     [...] the world isn't fair. I don't want anybody to say that I'm asking these questions because I'm envious.

2. bitter, grudgeful, malicious, resentful, spiteful (malicious)

   How yuh badmind so?

   Why are you so spiteful?

   • 2008, Curdella Forbes, A Permanent Freedom, →ISBN, page 12:

     “Miss Maldene, I hear dem talking bout how you bring obeah into the district, but I don't listen to dem, I say oonu too wicked and bad mind, not a thing more than the lady have a gift and she helping out her fellow man.”

     Miss Maldene, I've heard the rumours that you've brought black magic into our community. I don't pay attention to them. I told them that they're wicked and malicious. The only thing happening is the lady has a gift and she's helping others.

Noun

badmind

1. envy, jealousy (envy)

   Badmind a wah a mash up di country right yah now.

   Envy is what's destroying the country nowadays.

   Bun bad mind!

   To hell with envy.

   • 1961, Spotlight: Caribbean Newsmagazine, volumes 22-23, page 30:

     “"Dem face no pretty but dem no ha bad mind," said Kapo's caption at his recent exhibition at Hills Galleries.”

     "Their faces aren't pretty but they aren't green with envy", said Kapo's caption at his recent exhibition at Hills Galleries.

2. bitterness, malice, malicious nature, malicious ways, resentment, spite (malice)

   Badmind a kill dem.

   Their own bitterness is killing them.

   • 1984, Paul Keens-Douglas, Lal Shop: Short Stories and Dialect Poetry, →ISBN, page 106:

     “Nex' ting yu know , one ah dem jus' get fed up an' decide to drop dead jus' for bad mind . She say some people does dead for spite.”

     "The next thing you know, one of them just get fed up and decided to drop dead out of spite.

Further reading

• Richard Allsopp, editor (1996), Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage, Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press, published 2003, →ISBN, page 67