a backwater, usually narrow and tranquil.
any narrow stretch of water.
a fool
a hooligan
First recorded in 1895–1900; apparently shortening of pokelogan, perhaps conflated with bog 1
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
Characters in his bogan version say "g'day", friends are "mates" and those with questionable ethics are deemed "shonky".
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
Lambie quickly appropriated the insult: “I will use the business contacts, advice and wisdom I’ve gained … to help restore hope and rebuild our beautiful state – not bad for a bogan.’
From US News • Jul. 22, 2014
The pool was an old river-channel, now closed above, and making a quiet deep pool such as in England is called a "backwater" and in Canada a "bogan."
From Westways by Mitchell, S. Weir (Silas Weir)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
