August 08, 2005

Bof...

Does it even exist in the dictionary ? In the French culture, bof means indifference, apathy, disdain. Example :
-"How was your day, honey ?"
-"Bof."
Bof sums up the amount of un-happen-ness that can exist in one's life.

It expresses the boredom at one's life.
It's a short and sweet way of saying that you have nothing to say.

Today, is a bof day. It's 4:11 PM in Montreal and the place where I got the interview did not call me at all for the job. Today could have been the day where my jobless state ended. Instead, it's a bof day.

Sometimes I wonder about the exact necessity of working. I mean, deep down, I do my thing everyday. I use my legal knowledge to help my friends, my family, and even random strangers. I get involved in my community. I bake bread. I go out. I see my friends. So to be honest, the only reason I should get a job is to pay my bills. What do I say to this ?

Bof...

The Beaver


P.S. The recruiting office of the Forces called today about a few details of my security check. I think they're trying to fast-track me. Now, that doesn't deserve a bof. More like a yeah !

13 comments:

The Voice said...

I would gladly settle for 'bof' today - Some people are plain old thick-headed. Thanks for the defense maneuver there counselor! It is good to have friends such as you.

J

Beaver said...

You're very welcome Joe !

I will gladly join the forces of good to vanquish stupidity, whenever possible !

ON ON !

Beaver said...

Lasomniloquy :

Sorry, but bof does not really express the idea of a pause, more like a "blasé" way of seeing the whole situation.

Things may still be rolling, events may be happening, but if you FEEL unaffected (though they may really impact on you or your life), your reaction will be "bof"!

Bof is a way of saying :
- this is not interesting ;
- this is not relevant ;
- this is too common to keep my attention.

Inadvertantly, it may coincide with a pause in one's life, though.

007 in Africa said...

I think that the closest word to Bof in English is "Whatever"--with a shrug of the shoulders. But it doesn't quite catch the 'mediocre' aspect of the meaning.

Victoria said...

Yeah, when my friends Beata and Scott came to visit Lyon, I said "bof bof" and was hard-pressed to explain what it meant. Don't you hate un-translatable expressions?
By the by, we should really meet up sometime in Montreal (are you Dorothee's friend who called me once? It was in the middle of finals and I promptly lost the number...)

Beaver said...

Glad you both popped in, 007s !

D : Thanks, I think you have the best translation, or at least the closest one.

Vick : Indeed I am, and very happy that you remembered that little incident. When you're done doing the Euro-trip, we'll set something up :)

Kate said...

what "forces" are these? it sounds mysterious. well as long as it's not the dark side of the force, it's ok.

Beaver said...

RHJ : I actually applied to join the Canadian Army (See my Freedom of opinion post). Their official name is "Canadian Armed Forces".

Sorry, I haven't planned on becoming Darth Beaver yet :)

cityangelz said...

Oh well!! Good luck in your search. Hopefully the bof day doesn't happen again

Linda Jones Malonson said...

Hi Beaver … thought I would come out of lurk mode.

I like new words, especially when it something like Bof! So I went right to my American Heritage Dictionary and it is defined as follows:

Boff (bof) n. Slang. 1. A line in a play or film, for example, that elicits a big laugh. 2. A big laugh. 3. A conspicuous.

Needless to say, I like your meaning more.

Now this is a word that I can add to my “Ebonics” list. Of course the word Ebonics is not in the dictionary yet, at least I haven’t found it. It’s a term invented by the educated folks in our country, as an attempt to put down the black culture slaughter of the English language. I find Ebonics to be so amusing. I tried to tell them that our kids are just bi-lingual, but they don’t listen, they are so bof!

Salt Water said...

"Bof" means it has been too long since your last washed down a warm donut with hot coffee on the end of a long pier while watching a sunrise.

Beaver said...

LP : Ebonics sounds like a cool concept. If you're interested in including some african dialect in there, let me know. I'll be glad to provide you with my personnal Woloff dictionnary :)

SW : How true ! I need to get out to the country more. It's been 2 weeks already.

Beaver said...

Siti : Thanks - but don't worry ! I'm already back on my feet !