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• bogan
  bogan

  noun

  a backwater, usually narrow and tranquil.
• Bogan
  Bogan

  noun

  Louise, 1897–1970, U.S. poet.

bogan

¹ American  

[boh-guhn] / ˈboʊ gən /

noun

Northern Maine and Canadian (chiefly Maritimes and Northern New Brunswick).

1. a backwater, usually narrow and tranquil.

2. any narrow stretch of water.

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Bogan ² American  

[boh-gan, boh-guhn] / boʊˈgæn, ˈboʊ gən /

noun

1. Louise, 1897–1970, U.S. poet.

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bogan ¹ British  

/ ˈbəʊɡən /

noun

1. a fool

2. a hooligan

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bogan ² British  

/ ˈbəʊɡən /

noun

1. Also called: logan.   pokelogan.  (esp in the Maritime Provinces) a sluggish side stream

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Etymology

Origin of bogan

First recorded in 1895–1900; apparently shortening of pokelogan, perhaps conflated with bog ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bogan Bogan

Except this is a "bogan" version translated by Ander Louis, the pen name of a Melbourne IT worker who moonlights as a writer.

From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2025

He says in more recent times, the term has also been used affectionately of someone considered a bogan or even in reference to oneself such as the term "inner bogan".

From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2025

Dr. Laugesen noted that “fauxgan,” or fake bogan, was becoming the bigger insult, while finding your “inner bogan” was an honorable goal, suggesting Australians were eager to reclaim their more unsophisticated past.

From New York Times ● Jun. 19, 2022

They told me it was boring, or bogan, or suburban, or confronting, or sexy or entertaining, but no one said it was funny.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 14, 2019

Again they double the bend and try to hide; again the canoe overtakes them; and so on, mile after mile, till a stream or bogan flowing into the river offers a road to escape.

From Ways of Wood Folk by Charles Copeland

Economist Vicki Bogan, who wasn’t involved with creating the formula, views it as a useful bridge between academic theory and everyday investors’ needs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026

“It might not be perfect, but it gives a solid, kind of directionally correct way to think about your portfolio choice,” said Bogan, a professor at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026

Bogan, a term which first emerged in Australia in the 1980s, initially meant an "unsophisticated and uncultured person" with negative connotations, but not for Louis.

From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2025

"My initial response was being really sad that we'd lose this brand new, vibrant ecosystem," Bogan said.

From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2024

Mike Bogan and Biddy his wife looked behind them again and again.

From Strangers and Wayfarers by Sarah Orne Jewett