bum

I. n

1.

British

the bottom, backside, buttocks. From the Middle English period to the end of the 18th century it was possible to use this word in English without offending respectable persons. By the 19th century it was considered rude, perhaps unsur-prisingly, in that its suggested origin was in 'bom' or 'boom', an imitation of the sound of flatulence.

2.

a tramp, down-and-out, wastrel. This sense of the word is probably unrelated to the previous one. It is a 19th-century shortening of 'bummer', meaning an idler or loafer, from the German Bummler, meaning a 'layabout' (derived from bum-meln, meaning 'to dangle, hang about').

► 'It kind of upsets me that they talk about him as if he's a hopeless bum.' (Recorded, Canadian teenage girl, Lon-don, April 1996) See also on the bum

3a. sodomy or the opportunity thereof. A vulgarism used mainly by heterosexuals, referring to homosexual activity.

3b. an act of sexual intercourse. A heter-osexual synonym for tail.

II. adj

a.

worthless, inferior, bad

a bum cheque/trip

b.

incapacitated, out of order

a bum ankle

These usages are inspired by the Ameri-can noun sense of tramp, meaning an idler.

III. vb

1.

to cadge or scrounge. From the noun form bum meaning a down-and-out or beggar. This use of the word is predomi-nantly British.

► Can I bum a cigarette from you, man?

2a.

British

to sodomise

2b.

British

to have sex with. A childish usage, popularized by the wigga comic Ali G and still in vogue in 2006.

► The postman's been bummin'your mum!

3.

to practise enthusiastically, enjoy. This usage, fashionable among adolescents in 2006 is probably inspired by the earlier sexual senses of the word.

► She really bums that band.