i have heard this word used numerous times (the first in "An Officer and a Gentleman") and even on a box of cheese straws. it seems to be linked with the southern united states. i have investigated only a little but haven't really found much. does anyone know? do you know the etymology? thanks.

Thanks for posting this! It sent me off on a fascinating chase through the On-Line-Dictionaries website. All the references found were variations on "amazing, incredible, incorrigible, unrestrained by convention or propriety" and such like. The American Heritage Dictionary confirms the US regional origin and suggests the etymology as a blend of "bold" and "audacious". Another form is apparently "bardacious".

To add to above, Harper's Dictionary of Contemporary Usage says bodacious is a dialect term popularized in America in the "Barney Google and Snuffy Smith" comic strip. It means bold, audacious, daring, and arrogant. It may well be a blend of "bold" and "audacious" and originally appeared in British slang centuries ago as boldacious. However, the Supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary credits the present version as an Americanism.