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Glite Dictionary
no bueno

no bueno

9.9
An informal way to say that something is not good or acceptable
  • idiom
  • /noʊ ˈbweɪnoʊ/
  • Slang
translation icon : no bueno
  • The internet going down during my online exam was definitely no bueno.

And I think to your question about what we can certainly all agree on here, I think is that processed foods are no bueno.

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Examples

  • After tasting the soup, he just shook his head and said, 'no bueno.'

  • I checked the weather and it's supposed to rain all weekend—no bueno for our camping trip.

  • This situation is no bueno!

  • The food at that restaurant was no bueno.

  • The service at the restaurant was no bueno, so we won't be going back.

  • If it's raining during the picnic, that's no bueno for our plans.

  • She said her headache was no bueno, and she needed to rest.

Synonyms

undesirable
vsno bueno
31 4.6

Not wanted because it is unpleasant, harmful, or causes problems

is an informal exclamation that says something is not acceptable

Antonyms

good
∞ 1.0

Showing positive qualities that other people approve of

acceptable
477 2.5

Good enough for a particular use or standard

How Good

good
∞ 1.0
acceptable
477 2.5
no bueno
  • Slang
9.9
bad
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

no bueno positive

Morphology

no + bueno

The phrase literally combines the negative 'no' with 'bueno' (good), so its meaning 'not good / undesirable' is directly inferable from the constituents. Although it is a Spanish borrowing used informally in English, the negative + adjective pattern is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily understand it.

Etymology

No bueno comes from Spanish where no means 'no' or 'not' and bueno means 'good'. English speakers borrowed this short, direct phrase from movies and cartoons to say something is 'not good' or 'bad', so the literal words help you remember the modern meaning.