bof
See also: BOF, bôf, and bøf
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bɔf/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: bof
- Rhymes: -ɔf
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch boffe (“strike, blow; cheek”).
Noun
bof m (plural boffen, diminutive bofje n)
- (uncountable) mumps (contagious disease)
- (countable) luck, fortune
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
bof
- first-person singular present indicative of boffen
- imperative of boffen
French
FWOTD – 8 November 2014
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bɔf/
Audio (file)
Interjection
bof
- so what, never mind, whatever, meh
- Cette fille est mignonne, hein ? — Bof ! (That girl's cute, eh? — Meh, she's OK.)
- 2014 August 21, “A brazen heist in Paris [print version: International New York Times, 22 August 2014, p. 8]”, in The New York Times:
- The audacious hijacking in Paris of a van carrying the baggage of a Saudi prince to his private jet is obviously an embarrassment to the French capital, whose ultra-high-end boutiques have suffered a spate of heists in recent months. […] "The prince lost his day's pocket change? Bof!" wrote "Nico" in the newspaper Le Monde, using a French expression loosely translated as "big deal."
- (please add an English translation of this quote)
Usage notes
"Bof" is a multi use word, akin to “meh” in English. It is commonly used before the French phrase "je ne sais pas", meaning "I don't know". For example:
- Qu'est-ce que tu veux boire ? (What do you want to drink?)
- Bof... Je ne sais pas. (Hmpf... I don’t know.)
References
- "Équipe 1"-1999 Oxford University Press