bof

See also: BOF and bøf

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɔf/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bof
• Rhymes: -ɔf

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch boffe (“strike, blow; cheek”).

Noun

bof m (plural boffen, diminutive bofje n)

1. (uncountable) mumps (contagious disease)
2. (countable) luck, fortune

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

bof

1. (deprecated template usage) first-person singular present indicative of boffen
2. (deprecated template usage) imperative of boffen

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French

FWOTD – 8 November 2014

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɔf/

Interjection

bof

1. so what, never mind, whatever, meh

   Cette fille est mignonne, hein ? — Bof ! (That girl's cute, eh? — Meh, she's OK.)

   • 2014 August 21, “A brazen heist in Paris [print version: International New York Times, 22 August 2014, p. 8]”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     The audacious hijacking in Paris of a van carrying the baggage of a Saudi prince to his private jet is obviously an embarrassment to the French capital, whose ultra-high-end boutiques have suffered a spate of heists in recent months. […] "The prince lost his day’s pocket change? Bof!" wrote "Nico" in the newspaper Le Monde, using a French expression loosely translated as "big deal."

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes

"Bof" is commonly used before the French phrase "je ne sais pas", meaning "I don't know". For example:

• Qu'est-ce que tu veux boire ? (What would you want to drink?)
• Bof... Je ne sais pas. (Hmpf... I'm not sure.)

References

• "Équipe 1"-1999 Oxford University Press