Bomb (slang) - Definition and Overview

The term bomb is often used as slang :

• It can be used to mean "really good", as in "It's bomb."" (also: "It's the bomb.")
• Sometimes goods are said to "cost a bomb", meaning that it is very expensive.
• "Bomb" is also used in the sense of "going very quickly," as in "bombing along."
• The term "old bomb" sometimes means to an old automobile in very poor condition.
• Someone who tries and fails spectacularly at a task is often said to have "bombed out"; for example, a comedian who tells a joke which falls flat says that joke "bombed".
• A motion picture or theatrical production which is a financial failure is often described as a "bomb". Alternatively, some people use the term "bomb" to refer instead to films of particularly bad quality, irrelevant of financial concerns. In seeming contradiction to this, a blockbuster motion picture is a great financial success.
• "Bombing" sometimes means a non-standard diving (not scuba) method, which is entering the water in the fetal position bottom first, making a big splash. See diving#Feet first or head first for more information.
• A Bomb icon is used on Mac OS when it has a non-fatal error (same as a GPF in Windows 9x).