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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

But Louis argues bogan is the ultimate equaliser as the informal slang works across the social spectrum, whether it's in Australia or the world of Russian aristocrats.

From BBC • Nov. 14, 2025

Those shape-shifting bogan qualities along with Louis' varied resume - kitchen hand, energy analyst, Uber driver, punk rocker, Tokyo resident – makes him "strangely qualified" to create a bogan translation.

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

They were harmless, yet the kingfisher rushed upon them, clattering and scolding like a fishwife, and harried them all away into a quiet bogan.

From A Little Brother to the Bear and other Animal Stories by Long, William J. (William Joseph)