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"Bugger" is an expletive used in vernacular British English, Australian English and New Zealand English. When used in context it still retains its original meaning, implying sodomy; however it is now more generally used to imply dissatisfaction (bugger, I've missed the bus) or used to describe someone whose behaviour is in some way displeasing (the bugger has given me the wrong change). The phrase bugger off means to run away, and when used as a command it means "get lost". The word can also used amongst friends in an affectionate way (you old bugger) and is also used as a noun in Welsh English vernacular to imply that one is very fond of something (I'm a bugger for welshcakes). The character Unlucky Alf from The Fast Show always said "Awwww bugger" whenever something went wrong.
As with most other expletives its continued use has reduced its shock value and offensiveness, to the extent the Toyota car company in New Zealand ran a popular series of advertisements where "Bugger!" was the only spoken word. The term is generally not used in the United States, but it is recognised, although inoffensive there.
The word is derived from the French word "Boulgre", derived from "Bulgarian" (meaning the Bogomils of Bulgaria), who Catholic propaganda said were practicing 'buggery'.
Bugger (Alien)
In Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game series of science fiction novels, the insectoid Formics, an alien species, are usually referred to by the informal and derogatory term buggers because of their insect-like appearance.
The buggers share a single hive-mind directed by a queen. If the queen dies, all the buggers in the hive lose all will and intelligence and will die shortly afterwards. The buggers are able to communicate instantaneously via philotes; through studying the buggers, humans learned to harness faster-than-light communication via the ansible. In the novel Ender's Game, Ender Wiggin unknowingly commits xenocide and wipes out all the buggers except for a single queen egg. He eventually finds a place for the egg to hatch, allowing the buggers another chance at life.
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