Dictionary

bo liao en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˌboː˨ˈljaʊ˨˦/ (Singapore)

Etymology

From Hokkien 無聊／无聊 (bô-liâu, “bored; boring”).

Meanings

1. (Singapore, colloquial) Boring.
   • I had a friend who would SMS me the most bo liao messages. I’m glad it’s stopped now. 1999, Steven Tan, “Petition against M1 charging for SMS”, in soc.culture.singapore (Usenet), retrieved 01 Apr 2016:
   • Having to manage that part is rather ‘bo liao’ and I felt my limited energy can be better served somewhere. 2015, Derek Lim, “Random thoughts: Too iron teeth in my work?”, in thefinance.sg, retrieved 01 Apr 2016:
   • Can’t they do something more meaningful? Doing such things is called ‘bo liao‘ (nothing better to do). 2013, Airstrike, “13 school websites defaced by hacker who signed off as 'Jack Riderr'”, in Stomp (Singapore), retrieved 01 Apr 2016:
   • This guy damn bo-liao. As though I got time to entertain you. 1996, Leong Siew Mei, “Government system should be more tightly controlled”, in soc.culture.singapore (Usenet), retrieved 01 Apr 2016:

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