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noun
1.
a person who avoids work and sponges on others; loafer; idler.
2.
a tramp, hobo, or derelict.
3.
Informal. an enthusiast of a specific sport or recreational activity, especially one who gives it priority over work, family life, etc.: a ski bum; a tennis bum.
4.
Informal. an incompetent person.
5.
a drunken orgy; debauch.
verb (used with object)
6.
Informal. to borrow without expectation of returning; get for nothing; cadge: He's always bumming cigarettes from me.
7.
Slang. to ruin or spoil: The weather bummed our whole weekend.
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Bum around
is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
verb (used without object)
8.
to sponge on others for a living; lead an idle or dissolute life.
9.
to live as a hobo.
adjective Slang.
Verb phrase10.
of poor, wretched, or miserable quality; worthless.
11.
disappointing; unpleasant.
12.
erroneous or ill-advised; misleading: That tip on the stock market was a bum steer.
13.
lame: a bum leg.
14.
Idiomsbum around, Informal. to travel, wander, or spend one's time aimlessly: We bummed around for a couple of hours after work.
15.
bum (someone) out, Slang. to disappoint, upset, or annoy: It really bummed me out that she could have helped and didn't.
16.
on the bum, Informal.
a.
living or traveling as or in a manner suggesting that of a hobo or tramp.
b.
in a state of disrepair or disorder: The oven is on the bum again.
Origin:
1860–65, Americanism; perhaps shortening of or back formation from bummer1; adj. senses of unclear relation to sense “loafer” and perhaps of distinct orig.
1860–65, Americanism; perhaps shortening of or back formation from bummer1; adj. senses of unclear relation to sense “loafer” and perhaps of distinct orig.
Synonyms
2. vagabond, vagrant.
2. vagabond, vagrant.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To bum around
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
bum
"dissolute loafer, tramp," 1864, Amer.Eng., from bummer "loafer, idle person" (1855), possibly an extension of the British word for "backside" (similar development took place in Scotland, 1540), but more prob. from Ger. slang bummler "loafer," from bummeln "go slowly, waste time." Bum first appears in
EXPANDa Ger.-Amer. context, and bummer was popular in the slang of the North's army in Amer. Civil War (as many as 216,000 Ger. immigrants in the ranks). Bum's rush "forcible ejection" first recorded 1910. Bummer "bad experience" is 1960s slang.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
bum around definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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bum (sth) (off (so)) definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
bum around
-
Loaf, wander idly, as in After graduating he decided to bum around Europe for a year. [Mid-1800s]
-
Frequent bars or nightclubs, as in Her father accused her of bumming around half the night and threatened to cut off her allowance. In the mid-1800s to bum was slang for going on a drinking spree. A century later, with the addition of around, it simply meant going to saloons or clubs.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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