bugger-alln.adj.
/ˌbʌɡərˈɔːl/, U.S. /ˈˌbəɡərˈɔl/, /ˈˌbəɡərˈɑl/ slang (chiefly British, Australian, and New Zealand).
A. n.
Nothing at all, absolutely nothing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [noun] > nothing > nothing at all
noughtOE
neither tip nor toe1610
nix1781
damn the haet1787
no nothing1815
zero1823
all1842
neither hide nor hair1857
zip1900
nixie1906
damn all1910
fuck-all1916
Fanny Adams1919
bugger-all1921
S.F.A.1933
not a sausage1938
shit1949
zilch1956
eff-all1958
sod all1958
diddly-squat1963
diddly1964
jack-all1965
niente1969
zippo1973
feck-all1975
hee-haw1975
naff all1977
jack squat1986
1921 Notes & Queries 19 Nov. 418/2 The word ‘nothing’ was replaced in the Army by ‘b——r-all’—‘I did b——r-all’; ‘There was b——r-all to eat’.
1930 J. Hanley German Prisoner 33 There's buggerall here now. This fellow is dead.
1942 P. Larkin Let. 19 Sept. in Sel. Lett. (1992) 44 I'm sorry this letter is so dull, but I do just bugger all and tend to stagnate.
1967 J. Cleary Long Pursuit ii. 39 Way out here in the middle of bugger-all, and you turn up!
2000 W. Self How Dead Live 178 You don't know bugger-all about Dulston.
2011 T. Ronald Becoming Nancy (2012) xiv. 197 As for Dad—well, there is no reason why he has to know bugger-all about anything, is there?
B. adj.
Not any; absolutely no; very little.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [adjective] > no, none, or not any
nanyeOE
no (none) suchOE
noneOE
none-kinsOE
nolOE
no kina1400
zero1823
nix1846
nought1945
bugger-all1948
damn all1953
fuck-all1961
eff-all1965
zilch1969
zip1969
zippo1973
sod all1978
negative1984
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > not much/hardly any
littleeOE
smalla1350
scant1852
bugger-all1948
1948 I. Shaw Young Lions xxii. 380 They're so busy..shining the barrels so they'll look pretty when Miss Churchill happens to pass by, that it's bugger-all gunnery.
1984 A. Smith in G. Ursell More Sask. Gold iii. iii. 328 ‘I'm lost.’‘So am I.’‘There's just bugger-all sense out there,’ said one of us.
1992 M. Bracewell Conclave iv. 147 He does bugger-all work.
2016 West Austral. (Perth) (Nexis) 9 July 3 I soon learnt old cars are for mechanics or car enthusiasts, not romantic teenagers with bugger-all money.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2017; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.adj.1921