Bogart

Origin

From actor Humphrey Bogart, from Dutch surname Bogart ("keeper of an orchard"), from boomgaard ("treegarden, orchard"), cognate to English boom ("piece of wood")/beam + garden. Senses of selfishness and excess evolved from the original 1960’s use meaning “keep a joint in the mouth instead of passing it on”, recalling the actor’s signature practice of constantly keeping a cigarette dangling out of his mouth, even while talking. Other senses of “bullying” or “tough guy” also originated in the 1960’s and recall the actor’s various movie roles.

Another potential origin of the vernacular comes from Humphrey Bogart's role in the film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre in which his character, Dobbs, becomes increasingly selfish with the gold mine that he shares with his two partners.

Full definition of bogart

Noun

1. (slang) A very long inhalation of smoke, particularly marijuana.He took a huge bogart from the joint before finally passing it on.
2. (slang) Excess.There are over two dozen related terms for station? What a bogart!
3. (slang) One given to excess, whether good or ill.Smith is the writer, director, star and producer. What a bogart!
4. (slang) An obnoxious, selfish and overbearing person; an attention hog.He walked in, swiped my beer off the table and chugged it. I said “Dude, don’t be a bogart”, but he didn’t care.
5. (slang) A disappointment.Then right in the middle of their best song, the power went out? That’s a bogart.
6. (slang) The first cup of brewed coffee collected from under the coffee filter. Also, a cup of very strong coffee, much the same as espresso.Would you like a cup of bogart now or would you rather wait for the coffee to finish brewing?

Synonyms

• (long inhalation) Bogart drag

Verb

1. (slang) To selfishly take or keep something; to hog; especially to hold a joint (marijuana) dangling between the lips instead of passing it on.Dude, don’t bogart the chocolate fudge!Don’t bogart the can, man.
2. (slang) To get something by bullying, intimidation; be a tough guy.He tried to bogart his way in.