bugger

See also: Bugger

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈbʌɡɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbʌɡə/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

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• Rhymes: -ʌɡə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

From Middle English bougre (“heretic”), from Old French bougre, from Medieval Latin Bulgarus (“Bulgar”), from Old Church Slavonic блъгаринъ (blŭgarinŭ, “Bulgarian”), used in designation of heretics (especially the Bogomils, who arose around the 10th century AD in the First Bulgarian Empire), to whom various sexual practices such as anal sex were ascribed. Doublet of Bulgar.

Noun

bugger (plural buggers)

1. (obsolete) A heretic.
2. (Britain law) Someone who commits buggery; a sodomite.

   The British Sexual Offences Act of 1967 is a buggers’ charter.

3. (slang, derogatory, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, South Africa) A foolish or worthless person or thing; a despicable person.

   He's a silly bugger for losing his keys.

   The bugger’s given me the wrong change.

   My computer's being a bit of a bugger.

   • 1928, Frank Parker Day, Rockbound, Gutenberg Australia eBook #0500721h,

     “I’ll take it out on dat young bugger,” he thought viciously.

   • 1947, James Hilton, So Well Remembered, Gutenberg Australia eBook #0600371h,

     Here the cheers and shouts of the gallery were interrupted by a shabby little man in the back row who yelled out with piercing distinctness: “Don't matter what you call ’im now, George. The bugger’s dead.”

4. (slang, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, South Africa) A situation that is aggravating or causes dismay; a pain.

   So you're stuck out in the woop-woop and the next train back is Thursday next week. Well, that's a bit of a bugger.

5. (slang, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, South Africa) Someone viewed with affection; a chap.

   How are you, you old bugger?

   • 1946, Olaf Stapledon, Arms Out of Hand, in Collected Stories, Gutenberg Australia eBook #0601341,

     Good luck, you old bugger!

   • 1953 February-March, Henry Beam Piper, John Joseph McGuire, Null-ABC, in Astounding Science Fiction, Gutenberg eBook #18346,

     “And if Pelton found out that his kids are Literates—Woooo!” Cardon grimaced. “Or what we've been doing to him. I hope I’m not around when that happens. I’m beginning to like the cantankerous old bugger.”

6. (slang, dated) A damn, anything at all.

   I don't give a bugger how important you think it is.

7. (slang, Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand) Someone who is very fond of something

   I'm a bugger for Welsh cakes.

8. (slang, US) A whippersnapper, a tyke.

   What is that little bugger up to now?

Synonyms

• (sodomite): See Thesaurus:male homosexual and Thesaurus:fudge packer

Derived terms

• bugger factor
• give a bugger
• play silly buggers
• rugger bugger
• sandbugger

 

Translations

heretic — see heretic

someone who commits buggery

• Bulgarian: педераст (bg) m (pederast)
• Czech: sodomita (cs) m
• Dutch: sodemieter (nl) m
• Esperanto: bugrulo
• Finnish: luonnonvastainen, pervertikko
• French: sodomite (fr) m
• German: Sodomit (de) m, Arschficker (vulgar) m
• Hindi: गांडू (hi) m (gāṇḍū)
• Russian: содомит (ru) m (sodomit)
• Spanish: pervertido (es) m, sodomita (es) m, bugarrón m, bujarrón (es) m
• Urdu: گانڈو‎ m (gāṅḍū)

foolish or worthless person, rascal

• Afrikaans: bokker, bogger
• Czech: debil (cs) m
• Finnish: tollo (fi), kusipää (fi), lurjus (fi), ryökäle (fi), retku (fi), vintiö (fi) (child), retale (fi), renttu (fi)
• French: tête de nœud (fr) f, abruti (fr) m, glandu (fr) m
• German: Lump (de) m, Mistkerl (de) m, Arschloch (de) n
• Greek: βλάκας (el) m (vlákas)
• Maori: pokokōhua
• Slovak: blbec (sk) m

slang: a situation that causes dismay

• Hungarian: szívás (hu)

slang: someone viewed with affection

• Finnish: kamu (fi), hemmo (fi)
• French: rascal (fr) m, vieille branche (fr) f
• German: Kumpel (de) m
• Polish: skurwysyn (pl) m

dated slang: a damn

• Czech: hovno (cs) n
• Dutch: sodemieter (nl) m (indefinite article only)
• Finnish: hittoakaan (fi)
• Portuguese: um puto

slang: someone very fond of something

• Esperanto: maniulo
• Finnish: diggari (fi)
• French: fondu (fr) m
• German: Fan (de) m

whippersnapper — see whippersnapper

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} majadero (es) m, ^{(please verify)} jodón m, ^{(please verify)} fregón m, ^{(please verify)} fastidio (es) m

Verb

bugger (third-person singular simple present buggers, present participle buggering, simple past and past participle buggered)

1. (vulgar, Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand) To have anal sex with, sodomize.

   To be buggered sore like a hobo's whore (Attributed to Harry Mclintock's 1920s era Big Rock Candy Mountain)

2. (slang, vulgar in, Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand) To break or ruin.

   This computer is buggered! Oh no! I've buggered it up.

3. (slang, Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand) To be surprised.

   Bugger me sideways!

   Bugger me, here's my bus.

   Well, I'm buggered!.

   Buggered if I know the answer to that.

4. (slang, Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand) To feel contempt for some person or thing.

   Bugger Bognor. (Alleged to be the last words of King George V of the United Kingdom in response to a suggestion that he might recover from his illness and visit Bognor Regis.)

5. (slang, Britain, Australia, New Zealand) To feel frustration with something, or to consider that something is futile.

   Bugger this for a lark.

   Bugger this for a game of soldiers.

6. (slang, Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand) To be fatigued.

   I'm buggered from all that walking.

Derived terms

• bugger all
• bugger me
• bugger me backwards
• bugger off
• bugger that
• bugger that for a joke
• bugger this
• bugger up
• buggerer
• buggery

 

Translations

to have anal intercourse with

• Esperanto: bugri (eo)
• Finnish: harrastaa anaaliseksiä, panna perseeseen (vulgar)
• French: empaffer (fr), enculer (fr), sodomiser (fr)
• Greek: ξεκωλώνω (el) (xekolóno) (very vulgar), ξεκωλιάζω (xekoliázo) (very vulgar)

  Ancient: λακωνίζω (lakōnízō)

• Italian: inculare (it), buggerare (it)
• Latin: paedīcō
• Polish: cwelić (pl) impf (esp. in prisons), przecwelić (pl) pf (esp. in prisons)
• Portuguese: enrabar (pt)
• Spanish: encular (es), sodomizar (es), dar por el culo

to ruin

• Czech: zkurvit (cs)
• Dutch: verneuken (nl)
• Finnish: pilata (fi), rikkoa (fi), panna paskaksi
• French: ravager (fr), ruiner (fr)
• German: versauen (de), verpfuschen (de), ruinieren (de), vermurksen (de)
• Greek: καταστρέφω (el) (katastréfo)
• Polish: pierdolić (pl) impf, spierdolić (pl) pf, rozpierdalać impf (into smithereens), rozpierdolić (pl) pf (into smithereens)
• Russian: лома́ть (ru) (lomátʹ), по́ртить (ru) (pórtitʹ)

Interjection

bugger

1. (slang, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, vulgar) An expression of annoyance or displeasure.

   Bugger, I've missed the bus.

Synonyms

• bummer
• damn
• rats
• whoops

• See also Thesaurus:dammit

Translations

slang: expressing annoyance

• Afrikaans: bokker, bogger
• Czech: kurva (cs)
• Esperanto: fek (eo)
• Finnish: pahus (fi), hitsi (fi)
• French: merde (fr), bordel (fr), nom de Dieu (fr)
• Greek: σκατά (el) (skatá)
• Maori: atā, kai a te kurī
• Scottish Gaelic: cac (gd)
• Swedish: fan också (sv), helvete (sv), skit (sv)

Further reading

• The Origins and Common Usage of British swear-words

Etymology 2

From bug (noun) +‎ -er.

Noun

bugger (plural buggers)

1. One who sets a bug (surveillance device); one who bugs.

Related terms

• buggee

French

Alternative forms

• beuguer, buguer, boguer

Etymology

bug +‎ -er

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bœ.ɡe/

• (file)

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

bugger

1. (computing, also figurative) to malfunction, to glitch
   • 2021 April 15, quoting Benjamin Bourgois, “Benjamin Bourgois: "On a été autorisés à s'embrasser"”, in La Provence, →ISSN, page 32:

     Quand je l'ai vue arriver, cela s'est passé comme dans la série, j'ai buggé. Elle était déjà trés jolie.

     (please add an English translation of this quote)

Conjugation

This is a regular -er verb, but the stem is written bugge- before endings that begin with -a- or -o- (to indicate that the -g- is a "soft" /ʒ/ and not a "hard" /ɡ/). This spelling-change occurs in all verbs in -ger, such as neiger and manger.

Conjugation of bugger (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	simple	bugger
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1	simple	buggeant /bœɡ.ʒɑ̃/
	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		buggé /bœɡ.ʒe/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	bugge /bœɡʒ/	bugges /bœɡʒ/	bugge /bœɡʒ/	buggeons /bœɡ.ʒɔ̃/	buggez /bœɡ.ʒe/	buggent /bœɡʒ/
	imperfect	buggeais /bœɡ.ʒɛ/	buggeais /bœɡ.ʒɛ/	buggeait /bœɡ.ʒɛ/	buggions /bœɡ.ʒjɔ̃/	buggiez /bœɡ.ʒje/	buggeaient /bœɡ.ʒɛ/
	past historic2	buggeai /bœɡ.ʒe/	buggeas /bœɡ.ʒa/	buggea /bœɡ.ʒa/	buggeâmes /bœɡ.ʒam/	buggeâtes /bœɡ.ʒat/	buggèrent /bœɡ.ʒɛʁ/
	future	buggerai /bœɡ.ʒə.ʁe/	buggeras /bœɡ.ʒə.ʁa/	buggera /bœɡ.ʒə.ʁa/	buggerons /bœɡ.ʒə.ʁɔ̃/	buggerez /bœɡ.ʒə.ʁe/	buggeront /bœɡ.ʒə.ʁɔ̃/
	conditional	buggerais /bœɡ.ʒə.ʁɛ/	buggerais /bœɡ.ʒə.ʁɛ/	buggerait /bœɡ.ʒə.ʁɛ/	buggerions /bœɡ.ʒə.ʁjɔ̃/	buggeriez /bœɡ.ʒə.ʁje/	buggeraient /bœɡ.ʒə.ʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior2	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	bugge /bœɡʒ/	bugges /bœɡʒ/	bugge /bœɡʒ/	buggions /bœɡ.ʒjɔ̃/	buggiez /bœɡ.ʒje/	buggent /bœɡʒ/
	imperfect2	buggeasse /bœɡ.ʒas/	buggeasses /bœɡ.ʒas/	buggeât /bœɡ.ʒa/	buggeassions /bœɡ.ʒa.sjɔ̃/	buggeassiez /bœɡ.ʒa.sje/	buggeassent /bœɡ.ʒas/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect2	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	bugge /bœɡʒ/	—	buggeons /bœɡ.ʒɔ̃/	buggez /bœɡ.ʒe/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).