Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish بوش (boş, “empty, unoccupied”). Entered popular usage in English from the novels of James Justinian Morier.
Meanings
(UK) An expression of disbelief or annoyance.
"Bosh!" said the Vicar, rejecting the hint altogether. 1904, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, chapter 1, in The Food of the Gods:
“The people who wrote the mediaeval ballads,” answered the priest, “knew more about fairies than you do. It isn’t only nice things that happen in fairyland.”
“Oh, bosh!” said Flambeau. “Only nice things could happen under such an innocent moon. I am for pushing on now and seeing what does really come. We may die and rot before we ever see again such a moon or such a mood.” 1911, G. K. Chesterton, “The Sins of Prince Saradine”, in The Innocence of Father Brown:
Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish بوش (boş, “empty, unoccupied”). Entered popular usage in English from the novels of James Justinian Morier.
Meanings
(UK, uncountable) Nonsense.
Oliver saw Kit Carson wink at the lieutenant and Lucien Maxwell, as the speech reached them, and it was evident that these three leaders did not believe the Indian tales. Consequently he himself decided that the reports of "evil spirits" awaiting were all bosh. 1912, Edwin L[egrand] Sabin, chapter VIII, in With Carson and Frémont:
Tho' hundreds cheer his blatant bosh,
He's but a goose for a' that. 1868, Shirley Brooks, For A' That And A' That:
"Why, it's absolute bosh from beginning to end." 1955, C[live] S[taples] Lewis, chapter 5, in The Magician's Nephew, Collins, published 1998:
But you know very well you're talking bosh," exclaimed Abraham, somewhat discomfited. "There must be government, and there must be order, say what you like. 1884, George Gissing, chapter 17, in The Unclassed:
An onomatopoeic formation, imitating a sudden blow.
Meanings
(UK) An expression of speedy and satisfactory completion of a simple or straightforward task.
It's the Kerry Godliman system. It's the most obvious route. It's direct... and it gets the job done. Bosh. 2018 October 31, Greg Davies, “The Pendulum Draws the Eye”, in Taskmaster, season 7, episode 9:
It's a ~3 foot double lead with two 5-pin DIN plugs on one end and a big gameport-sized-n-shaped plug on the other. One end into the gameport, t'other plugs into the back of your keyboard. Bosh, job done. 2001, rec.games.computer.ultima.dragons (Usenet):
My father registered with these people a few months ago, and all his calls dried up. He was also of the opinion that he shouldn't need to register not to be disturbed, and he's pretty ruthless on the 'phone when he wants to be . . . but eventually he grew tired of it . . . bosh. Job done. 2001, uk.local.lincolnshire (Usenet):
Wrong, get a^([sic]) LPG diesel. More power than either, better economy than either, bosh, job's done. 2003, uk.rec.cars.misc (Usenet):
(UK, slang, transitive) To consume (illicit drugs).
People want to make sure they are loaded up well before midnight. It's not like any other party where they might not turn up until eleven. They commence boshing pills straight away […] 2015, Oliver Merlin, Clapham High Way, page 188:
I wasn’t on three (e) pills, I was on 1. So, I remember it. It’s only when you bosh that third pill you start losing it, that’s not really how you take ecstasy. Kids do that, but it’s a bit foolish. Not that I’m saying I haven’t done that! 2017, Jon Boon, James Desborough, The Shamen rapper who sang "Es are good" has revealed he was high on drugs every time he did TOTP (in The Mirror newspaper)
We boshed two grams each of the beast 10, and then we went downstairs. 1996, Aidan Macfarlane, Magnus Macfarlane, Philip Robson, The user: the truth about drugs, what they do, how they feel, and why people take them:
My father broke his bosh one night when he was in Waterford. Patrick "Pecker" Dunne quoted in 2009, Mícheál Ó hAodha, Migrants and Memory: The Forgotten “Postcolonials” (page 53)