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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread bodacious (spelling error?) is it slang? #784 03/20/00 09:28 PM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 1 W wolfram2 OP stranger OP wolfram2 stranger W Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 1 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. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: bodacious (spelling error?) is it slang? #785 03/20/00 11:56 PM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 140 Melbourne, Australia lusy member lusy member Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 140 Melbourne, Australia 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". Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: bodacious (spelling error?) is it slang? #786 03/21/00 11:03 PM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 18 J jackiemw stranger jackiemw stranger J Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 18 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. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary Forum Statistics Forums16 Topics13,915 Posts229,947 Members9,198 Most Online3,341 Dec 9th, 2011 Newest Members testawad, Bill_L, achz, MAGNVSTALSMA, Burlyfish 9,198 Registered Users Who's Online Now 0 members (), 1,135 guests, and 2 robots. Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod Top Posters(30 Days) wofahulicodoc 25 A C Bowden 11 LukeJavan8 1 Top Posters wwh 13,858 Faldage 13,803 Jackie 11,613 wofahulicodoc 10,929 tsuwm 10,542 LukeJavan8 9,949 Buffalo Shrdlu 7,210 AnnaStrophic 6,511 Wordwind 6,296 of troy 5,400

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