"bog-standard" meaning in English

See bog-standard in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /ˌbɒɡˈstændəd/ [Received-Pronunciation] Audio: En-au-bog-standard.ogg Forms: bog standard [alternative], bogstandard [alternative]
Etymology: Unknown, but probably derived from a corruption of box-standard under influence from bog (“toilet”), possibly via bog-wheel (“Cambridge slang for bicycle”), or from bog (“unsettled swampland”) in reference to a lack of sophistication or polish. Sometimes folk etymologized as separately deriving from bog (“toilet”) + standard after a supposed similarity among chamberpots or toilets (despite box-standard predating it by a century and bog's original use only in reference to latrines and outhouses) or from the unattested acronym BOG, allegedly short for British or German, referring to the supposed dominance of British and German engineering during Victorian times. Etymology templates: {{unk|en}} Unknown, {{glossary|folk etymology|folk etymologized}} folk etymologized Head templates: {{head|en|adjective|head=bog-standard}} bog-standard
  1. (informal, derogatory) Utterly basic, ordinary, or standard; unremarkable, unexceptional, etc. Wikipedia link: BBC World Service, David Crystal, Michael Quinion Tags: derogatory, informal Synonyms: bogey, boggo#Adjective, common, normal Derived forms: bogey, boggo
    Sense id: en-bog-standard-en-adj-s8VF0PkD Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries

Alternative forms

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Download raw JSONL data for bog-standard meaning in English (3.1kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-03-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-02-21 using wiktextract (7c21d10 and f2e72e5). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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