bugger all
4
9.9
- idiom
- /ˈbʌɡə ɔːl/
- NSFW
- After months of hard work, I realized I had achieved bugger all in terms of progress.
Examples
-
The rest of the afternoon was spent sitting in the sun, having a beer or two (or wine in Sue's case) and generally doing bugger all.
Blog text (27) -
This has bugger-all to do with self-determination.
Blog text (29) -
Well, it's absolutely bugger all in the papers.
-
There's bugger-all to eat in here, except this.
-
How can it be too close for comfort if it has bugger all to do with the illnesses?
Blog text (14) -
Despite all the promises made, the project delivered bugger all to the community.
-
He spent a year on his research but ended up with bugger all to show for his efforts.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Not anything of interest or value
19
9.9
Not anything or zero
15
9.9
A very small or no amount of something
7
9.9
A very small amount, almost nothing
2
4.3
Almost nothing of value
1
9.9
A very rude way to say you have nothing at all
1
9.9
Not anything at all
Nothing at all is left
A way to say you have nothing or very little
No money at all
Antonyms
How Much
Surface Forms
Morphology
bugger + all
The meaning 'nothing at all' is idiomatic and cannot be derived from 'bugger' + 'all': 'bugger' is vulgar/slang with person/pejorative senses unrelated to quantity, so the combination does not transparently signal zero. A B1 learner who knows the literal senses of the parts would not predict this usage; it is regional slang and unpredictable cross-linguistically, making it opaque.
Etymology
Bugger all may come from using the rude word bugger as a strong negative together with all (everything), creating a sharp image of 'not even a bit of anything'. That's why people use bugger all to mean 'nothing at all'.