Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Eye dialect spelling of bother.
  • noun UK, slang Violence, especially that associated with youth gangs.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Represents a nonstandard or dialectal (in particular Cockney) pronunciation of bother.

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Examples

  • Two of the options feature pics of lovely David Cameron, while the more negative pair - on Brown's record and the "Job Tax" - feature a pic of a sweaty Gordon and a pair of what were once called bovver boots respectively.

    The Register Team Register 2010

  • Bell-bottoms soon gave way to flared jeans in the 1970s as the disco movement broke out, many found solace away from the introduction of miniskirts and 'bovver' boots by hiding within the glam rock circle, dressing in glittery outfits and tight tops.

    Press Releases | Press Release Distribution | Submit Press Release 2010

  • Bell-bottoms soon gave way to flared jeans in the 1970s as the disco movement broke out, many found solace away from the introduction of miniskirts and 'bovver' boots by hiding within the glam rock circle, dressing in glittery outfits and tight tops.

    The Earth Times Online Newspaper 2010

  • Bell-bottoms soon gave way to flared jeans in the 1970s as the disco movement broke out, many found solace away from the introduction of miniskirts and 'bovver' boots by hiding within the glam rock circle, dressing in glittery outfits and tight tops.

    Press Releases | Press Release Distribution | Submit Press Release 2010

  • Friends were told he had got in some "bovver" after he "f***ed up".

    Top stories from Times Online 2009

  • We were playing our set when suddenly the doors burst open and about 30 skinheads walk in, fully clad, in leather and bovver boots.

    The worst gig we ever played: musicians on their on-stage lows 2011

  • This is the same dictionary that described “bovver boys” (Skinheads) as “Hells Angels” by the way.

    The Wrong Kind Of Snow « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2009

  • Some wear spidery black underwear and bovver boots, like pole dancers in fear of broken glass.

    Marching with the SlutWalkers 2011

  • Some wear spidery black underwear and bovver boots, like pole dancers in fear of broken glass.

    Marching with the SlutWalkers 2011

  • Teddy boys, perhaps, or punks, but there was always something silly and peacocky about them, which isn't something you can say about the skins, whose look was built for what used to be called bovver.

    Alexis Petridis: Skinhead style 2010

Comments

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  • Online Etym. Dict. says:

    "1969, Cockney pronunciation of bother "trouble" (q.v.), given wide extended usage in skinhead slang."

    January 6, 2008