to be a jagoff
- phrasal verb
- /bi ə ˈdʒæɡˌɔf/
- Offensive
:
ser un cabrón
- If you keep interrupting people like that, you're really being a jagoff.
Examples
-
Don't be a jagoff and cut in line!
-
He can really be a jagoff sometimes.
-
Nobody wants to work with someone who is a jagoff all the time.
-
She's not being a jagoff, she's just having a tough day.
-
If you keep interrupting people like that, you're really being a jagoff.
-
Nobody wants to work with someone who is being a jagoff all the time.
-
Don't be a jagoff and cut in line!
Synonyms
1
9.9
Act in a rude, foolish way that annoys or upsets other people
To act in a rude and unhelpful way
To behave very rudely and make other people angry or upset
Behave in a very rude and insulting way to other people
Behave rudely and selfishly and annoy other people
To act in a rude, annoying way that other people dislike
To behave rudely and arrogantly toward other people
Act in a rude, unkind way toward other people
To behave loudly and show off to impress other people in an annoying way
In a rude way that shows no respect
Antonyms
How Rude
- Offensive
15
7.4
- Offensive
- Offensive
126
5.1
21
2.3
25
1.3
747
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
be + a + jagoff
The verb 'be' and the article 'a' are fully transparent, but the key lexical item 'jagoff' is a regional slang insult whose meaning (roughly 'jerk' or 'idiot') is not derivable from its parts and is not a predictable English composition. Because the expression relies on knowledge of a dialectal slang word rather than regular semantic composition, a B1 learner who only knows the constituent forms would not be able to infer the idiomatic sense.
Etymology
The slang be a jagoff may come from the old word jag, meaning a sharp poke or 'jab'. Imagine someone who 'jabs' others with small, mean acts or words. So, that picture is why be a jagoff means 'to act in a rude, annoying way'.