2018年11月29日 · Bad boy: (US) anything considered impressive. 1983 [US] R. Price Breaks 156: Tell them to get it the hell out of room 220 so I can move in the way I was supposed to, and this bad boy’s yours. a usage with a related meaning, from which the above usage might derive, is from black American and dates from the '50s: bad boy:

2010年10月21日 · 1909, from common pronunciation of "that's the boy!" a cheer of encouragement or approval. Merriam-Webster throws in a "probably" for good measure: probably alteration of that's the boy. First Known Use: 1909. The most extended discussion I was able to find is in the Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English by Eric Partridge: attaboy! Go it!:

2011年4月23日 · It has two degrees of meaning, one which is much more negative than the other. I quote the relevant NOAD definition: mischievous (of a person, animal, or their behavior) causing or showing a fondness for causing trouble in a playful way. It clearly isn't a direct synonym of cheeky, but it could work very well for related behavioral descriptions.

2012年7月5日 · Where did these interjections: man! (oh) boy! oh brother; come from, and why are they all male? If you don’t know their current meanings as interjections, it sounds very strange to say Man! when you are disappointed or frustrated, and Oh boy! when you are excited (although people are increasingly using it for other emotional contexts), and …

2017年12月5日 · Attaboy or thattaboy or that a boy is an informal expression of praise, approval, or encouragement of American origin, first attested 1909. As AHD has it: interj. Informal Used to show encouragement or approval to a boy or man: Attaboy! That's the way to hit a home run! [Alteration of That's the boy!]

2023年1月25日 · there's a good boy/girl/dog! idiom (mainly UK) used to show approval or encouragement: Tie your shoelaces, there's a good girl! Examples from the Corpus (Longman Dictionary) • I am Pa's best boy. • Randolph worked his hardest, pulling away, while Santa delivered all the presents to the good boys and girls. • He's a good boy, and he's very ...

2015年10月26日 · The Online Etymology Dictionary traces its current meaning "tough guy" at least to the 1950s. My observation is that using "bad" à la Michael Jackson to mean "cool" or "good" is extinct and has been for a couple decades, but "badass" is very common.

2020年2月1日 · It explains the difference between the way in which I would normally use the term (as the British do) and the defined meaning from Lexico. I referred to the latter, because this site often penalises contributors who don't use references (which is a practice I don't agree with, because dictionaries very often miss common usage).

2018年11月29日 · In some local uses "a man," without reference to age (OED lists "in Cornwall, in Ireland, in the far West of the U.S."). Meaning "male negro slave or Asian personal servant of any age" attested from c. 1600. Extended form boyo is attested from 1870. Emphatic exclamation oh, boy is attested by 1917.)

2017年2月27日 · Not that he's a bad boy, ... <== It's not that he's a bad boy, ... The totally predictable initial It's frequently gets wiped via Conversational Deletion; frequently enough, anyway, to make an idiom. The intention of the construction is to deny an obvious stereotype judgement by offering evidence of its falsity. Typically the "..." starts with but