Meaning & use
bog off
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Meanings
phrasephrasal verbBritishinformalslang
An impolite way to tell someone to go away and leave you alone.
Grammar: No object; usually used as a command: Bog off!
Patterns
- tell someone to bog off
He told the salesman to bog off and shut the door.
Oh, bog off, I'm trying to concentrate!
The kids shouted at the dog to bog off, but it stayed where it was.
verbphrasal verbBritishinformal
To leave a place, especially in a hurry or without caring what anyone thinks.
Grammar: No object; often followed by a place or a word like home.
Patterns
- bog off somewhere
I'm going to bog off home early on Friday.
He just bogged off in the middle of the meeting.
Half the team bogged off to the pub at four o'clock.
Word forms
| third person singular | bogs off |
|---|---|
| past tense | bogged off |
| past participle | bogged off |
| -ing form | bogging off |
Common combinations
- tell someone to bog off
- She told the heckler to bog off.
- just bog off
- If you don't like it, just bog off.
- bog off home
- Let's bog off home before the rain starts.
- Why don't you bog off?
- Why don't you bog off and let me finish?
Synonyms and how they differ
- clear off
- It is also British and rude but a little less crude, and it is more common in everyday speech.
- get lost
- It is understood in both British and American English and sounds slightly milder.
- push off
- It is the gentlest of these, and may be used playfully.
- scram
- It is a short, old-fashioned American command and sounds more comic than angry.
Opposites
Word family
- bog noun
- soft wet ground, and also British slang for a toilet
Commonly confused: bog off or bog down?
bog off vs bog down
To become stuck or slowed, as in a project that bogs down, which is not related to telling someone to leave.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'bog off' correctly in British informal speech?
Choose one answer.
Bog off means go away and is used about people leaving. The others use it as if it meant send, close or spread, which it cannot.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bog off”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.