bupkis

English

Alternative forms

bobkes, bopkes, bubkes, bubkis, bupkas, bupkass, bupkes, bupkiss, bupkus

Etymology

Borrowed from Yiddish באָבקעס‎ (bobkes), plural of באָבקע‎ (bobke, “goat or sheep dropping”), from באָב‎ (bob, “bean”) +‎ ־קע‎ (-ke), from Proto-Slavic *bobъ.

Pronunciation

(US) IPA^(key): /ˈbʌp.kɪs/, (US, Yiddishesque) IPA^(key): /ˈbɔp.kɪs/

Noun

bupkis (uncountable)

Absolutely nothing; nothing of value, significance, or substance.
We searched for hours and found bupkis.

Usage notes

Often translated as meaning small round fecal pellets, referring to the shape of goat droppings. A colorful usage, though a more emphatic expression (in Yiddish more so than in English) is "bupkis mit kaduchas" (באָבקעס מיט קדחת‎ (bobkes mit kadokhes)), translating roughly to "shivering shit balls".

Synonyms

See Thesaurus:nothing

Translations

absolutely nothing

Danish: bar røv at trutte i c
Faroese: ikki tað minsta
Finnish: ei paskaakaan (fi)

Romanian: canci (ro), nexam
Swedish: nada (sv), inte ett skvatt (sv)
Yiddish: באָבקעס‎‎ (bobkes)

Anagrams

Biskup

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