bugger

Bugger seems like a completely harmless word, right? Wrong.

While often used informally as an insult (like “jerk”) or to refer to any ole whachamacallit, bugger has also been used as a more offensive vulgar term for “sodomy.”

Bugger ultimately originates from the Medieval Latin Bulgarus, literally “Bulgarian.” During the Middle Ages, the Balkans (the peninsula where Bulgaria is located) were linked to heretical sects, such as a group known as the Bogomils, who were said to engage in deviant sexual practices.

We can see that the history of bugger has both historical layers of xenophobia and homophobia. Keep context in mind when using this word or else someone might tell you to bugger off.

If knowing the history of bugger has got you reflecting on your word choices, this slideshow, “These Common Words Have Offensive Histories,” discusses many other words whose place in your vocab you may want to reconsider. 

Bugger is still sometimes used in vulgar ways today, so let’s equip you with some alternatives just in case.

If you need another word for a “young fellow,” as in a cute little bugger, try youngster, rascal, scamp, or runt.

If you want to be a little meaner—er, more forceful, shall we say—about it, consider pest, nuisance, headache, or pain in the neck. Still curious about some other insults (oh, we know it’s just pure curiosity), English has a plethora of them. Here are a few of the gentler varieties: jerk, idiot, fool, oaf, nincompoop, or buffoon.

And if you need a different term for “a random item,” the junk drawer of English has the assortment you need: doodad, gizmo, gadget, and widget, to name a few.

Need even more substitutes for bugger? Check out our synonyms for kid, annoyance, and thing on Thesaurus.com.