Dictionary

fatty bom bom en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈfɛti(˦)ˌbɔm(˨)ˌbɔm(˨˦)/ (Singapore)

Etymology

Derived from slang fatty (“a fat person”) + bom bom ("a sound imitative of the noise a fat person makes when walking"). Compare West Indian/Caribbean slang fatty bum-bum ‘a very fat person, esp. a woman with large buttocks’ (Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage (1996), Green’s Dictionary of Slang), and Australian slang fatty boom-bah or fatty-boom-bah-sticks ‘a taunting nickname for a fat person’ (The Essential Lingo Dictionary of Australian Words and Phrases, 2015).

Meanings

1. (Malaysia, Singapore, colloquial, derogatory, mildly) A fat or overweight person.
   • I remember, too, a ditty: "Fatty, fatty bom bom, curi curi jagung; mata-mata tangkap, masuk dalam lokap" (the fat one steals the corn, gets arrested by police and is thrown into the lock-up. 2006 January 10, Kathirasen, New Straits Times:
   • “Fatty bom bom” refers to an Ah Pui; “bom bom”, as the sound a heavy, wobbling body makes, dramatizes fatness. 2015 November 11, Gwee Li Sui, “SinGweesh on Wednesday: Kiam Chye Char Loti”, in The Middle Ground, archived from the original on 09 Aug 2016:
   • Soon, there were all sorts of derivatives - fatty, fatso, fatty bom bom, Trim and Fit club (arguably not the children's fault) - so much so that by the time someone reaches adulthood, the term had become a source of deep emotional pain. 2014 October 20, Jeremy Au Yong, “Who are you calling fat?”, in The Straits Times, archived from the original on 16 Sep 2019:
   • I particularly liked: Fatty bom bom, meaning a fat bottomed person. 2007 November 7, Rosie Milne, “Trouble and strife: Singlish”, in The Telegraph, retrieved 28 Mar 2016:
   • He skips 500 times a day and runs three kilometers a day to chase away his fatty bom bom blues. 1990 June 2, Chua Chong Jin, The Straits Times, page 28:
   • “My family and friends were quite upset for me when they read it, but I don’t take it seriously,” said the 79kg heavyweight, who told us there were worse disparages like a “Go Home, Fatty Bom Bom” message posted on the Talentime forum. 2001 November 30, Jeanmarie Tan, The New Paper, page 42:

Forms