/ˈbəʊ.ɡəs/, /ˈboʊ.ɡəs/
OriginFirst attested as an underworld term for an apparatus for creating counterfeit coins, then the coins themselves. Later, the word was applied to anything of poor quality. The newest use to mean useless is probably from the slang of computer hackers.
The origin is unknown, but there are at least two theories that try to trace its origin:
* From Hausa boko (“to fake”). Since bogus first appeared in the United States, it may be possible that its ancestor was brought there on a slave ship.
* From criminal slang as a short form of tantrabogus, a 19th-century slang term for a menacing object, making some believe that bogus might be linked to bogy or bogey (see bogeyman). In this sense, Bogus might be related to Bogle – a traditional trickster from the Scottish Borders, noted for achieving acts of household trickery; confusing, but not usually damaging.
- Counterfeit or fake; not genuine.
“He was arrested for trying to cash a bogus check at the bank.”
“[…] that he and David Whitmer swore falsley, stole, cheated, lied, sold bogus money, (base coin,), and also stones and sand for bogus; that letters in the post-office had been opened, read, and destro”
“They have printed bogus despatches, and unhesitatingly used what they knew was bogus matter in a way to mislead even newspaper men.”
- slangUndesirable or harmful.
“What Jefferson was saying was, Hey! You know, we left this England place 'cause it was bogus; so if we don't get some cool rules ourselves - pronto - we'll just be bogus too! Get it?”
- slangIncorrect, useless, or broken.
- Of a totally fictitious issue printed for collectors, often issued on behalf of a non-existent territory or country (not to be confused with forgery, which is an illegitimate copy of a genuine stamp).
“Bogus stamps are labels made to deceive stamp collectors. Many bogus stamps were made prior to 1900 when some had names of imaginary countries.”
- Based on false or misleading information or unjustified assumptions.
- US, dialectal, uncountableA liquor made of rum and molasses.
“BOGUS. A liquor made of rum and molasses.”
“"Calibogus," or "bogus" was cold rum and beer unsweetened.”
“The American colonists drank rum straight, spiced, or mixed. They combined it with a list of ingredients: rum mixed with hard cider was called stonewall; rum and beer made bogus; rum and molasses made”
- US, archaic, dialectal, uncountableCounterfeit money.
““Ahem—it is the opinion of the court that the prisoner has been making bogus; so we must put him in the jug until Superior Court.[…]””
“There is not a merchant in this city but knows this fact, and also that there has been a large quantity of bogus in circulation.”
“This being agreed to, they hand the soldier the same number of dollars they received from him—but all counterfeit. This new way of passing bogus they have practised to a considerable extent […]”
Formsmore bogus(comparative) · most bogus(superlative) · Boguses(plural)