bovver

American  

[bov-er] / ˈbɒv ər /

noun

British Slang.

1. troublemaking or rowdiness by street gang youths.

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bovver British  

/ ˈbɒvə /

noun

1. slang

   1. rowdiness, esp caused by gangs of teenage youths

   2. ( as modifier )

      a bovver boy

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Etymology

Origin of bovver

1965–70; representing Cockney pronunciation of bother (noun), probably originally as a euphemism

Example Sentences

And it was thanks to If.… that he landed the role of Alex DeLarge in the vicious, playful A Clockwork Orange, prancing about Thamesmead in bovver boots and a bowler hat.

From The Guardian • Jul. 17, 2020

Fleet Street cannot get enough of the craze which means there are numerous headlines based on variations of "hover" and "bovver".

From BBC • Oct. 12, 2015

The police box was equipped with a rotating blue light on its Moorish roof and a telephone for bobbies to call in the Depression-era equivalent of an airstrike: truncheon-wielding bovver boys on horseback.

From New York Times • Nov. 28, 2012

You know, "Wo' a bloody bovver" and all.

From Salon • Feb. 10, 2011

"I don't bovver," he said, with a cross look in the direction of his brother and sister Rochesters.

From The Golden Scarecrow by Walpole, Hugh, Sir