What is the meaning of 'clusterbourach'?
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
In recent days I've seen the word 'clusterbourach' come up to describe the Brexit process. For example, in the National:
The deal was, he said later, not just a bourach, but a “clusterbourach”.
I've tried looking up this word online but have been unable to find a definition (for example, in the Online Scots Dictionary). I'm guessing from context that it means 'a mess' or something similar. Still, it would be good to get a proper definition.
What does this word mean?
meaning scottish-english
asked 3 hours ago
The Dark Lord
1586
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
In recent days I've seen the word 'clusterbourach' come up to describe the Brexit process. For example, in the National:
The deal was, he said later, not just a bourach, but a “clusterbourach”.
I've tried looking up this word online but have been unable to find a definition (for example, in the Online Scots Dictionary). I'm guessing from context that it means 'a mess' or something similar. Still, it would be good to get a proper definition.
What does this word mean?
meaning scottish-english
asked 3 hours ago
The Dark Lord
1586
We're way past clusterburach, most commentators agree we are now well into omniburach territory. I put great faith in my local MSP's scots/gaelic/english vocabulary.
– Spagirl
3 mins ago
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
In recent days I've seen the word 'clusterbourach' come up to describe the Brexit process. For example, in the National:
The deal was, he said later, not just a bourach, but a “clusterbourach”.
I've tried looking up this word online but have been unable to find a definition (for example, in the Online Scots Dictionary). I'm guessing from context that it means 'a mess' or something similar. Still, it would be good to get a proper definition.
What does this word mean?
meaning scottish-english
asked 3 hours ago
The Dark Lord
1586
In recent days I've seen the word 'clusterbourach' come up to describe the Brexit process. For example, in the National:
The deal was, he said later, not just a bourach, but a “clusterbourach”.
I've tried looking up this word online but have been unable to find a definition (for example, in the Online Scots Dictionary). I'm guessing from context that it means 'a mess' or something similar. Still, it would be good to get a proper definition.
What does this word mean?
meaning scottish-english
meaning scottish-english
asked 3 hours ago
The Dark Lord
1586
asked 3 hours ago
The Dark Lord
1586
asked 3 hours ago
The Dark Lord
1586
asked 3 hours ago
The Dark Lord
1586
asked 3 hours ago
The Dark Lord
1586
1586
We're way past clusterburach, most commentators agree we are now well into omniburach territory. I put great faith in my local MSP's scots/gaelic/english vocabulary.
– Spagirl
3 mins ago
add a comment |
We're way past clusterburach, most commentators agree we are now well into omniburach territory. I put great faith in my local MSP's scots/gaelic/english vocabulary.
– Spagirl
3 mins ago
We're way past clusterburach, most commentators agree we are now well into omniburach territory. I put great faith in my local MSP's scots/gaelic/english vocabulary.
– Spagirl
3 mins ago
We're way past clusterburach, most commentators agree we are now well into omniburach territory. I put great faith in my local MSP's scots/gaelic/english vocabulary.
– Spagirl
3 mins ago
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
up vote
4
down vote
accepted
The writer of this article is assuming the reader is familiar with a rather vulgar term, cluster fuck, given by M-W as:
a complex and utterly disordered and mismanaged situation : a muddled mess
I am not that familiar with the term bourach, but one of the meanings given in your own link is "mess," possibly deriving from the original meaning of a dwelling in a bad state of upkeep.
So the writer has made a slightly humorous attempt to bowdlerize his statement by replacing the vulgar portion of cluster fuck with something else. Whether the attempt worked and got the desired effect is another question.
answered 3 hours ago
cobaltduck
11.4k13372
1
That makes total sense! I never considered clusterfuck as a source (although I am vaguely familiar with it). Would you take a stab at a definition, in the light of what you've said? For instance, would it be fair to describe the meaning of the quote in my question as "not just a mess but a total and utter mess"?
– The Dark Lord
2 hours ago
1
By the by, I don't think it necessarily has the effect of bowdlerising clusterfuck, rather of playfully making bourach more emphatic. If it does modify clusterfuck then it 'Scottishises' it, giving it a distinctive Scottish nature. Which suits the SNP down to the ground. I do at least know more about Scottish politics than I do about Scottish linguistics! I do rather like it as a phrase. Playful and mischeivous.
– The Dark Lord
2 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
The more common spelling of this is
clusterburach
meaning something like an 'awful great big complicated mess'. It has been used commonly recently to describe the legal difficulties in Brexit negotiations.
An example usage from recent news:
Scotland does deserve better. No reasonable person looking at the clusterburach at Westminster this week can deny that.”
It of course is patterned after the much more pejorative/taboo 'clusterfuck', a big mess. The interesting part is the minced oath 'búrach' which is Scots and Irish Gaelic for 'mess'. So 'clusterburach' is two euphemism steps away from 'clusterfuck'.
'Búrach' also means 'duck', which may have been a multilingual rhyming euphemism (this is very questionable but entertaining). In other words, a cluster of ducks is not necessarily evocative of a terrible complication, but is associated by translation first and then by rhyming with a taboo word for 'a great big mess'.
answered 1 hour ago
Mitch
49.7k1599207
1
I'm going to start using "clusterduck" in casual conversation until it turns into a thing
– automaton
31 mins ago
1
Do you have a source for 'Búrach' meaning duck? Dwelly has three pages of results for Gaelic duck-related words, but none of them resemble Búrach', likewise on learnGaelic. Also, can you expand on bourach being a 'minced oath'? The word is in common use in my part of the world to mean 'mess' and I've not previously been aware of its being a euphemism and certainly have no experience of it being in any way taboo.
– Spagirl
12 mins ago
add a comment |
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2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
4
down vote
accepted
The writer of this article is assuming the reader is familiar with a rather vulgar term, cluster fuck, given by M-W as:
a complex and utterly disordered and mismanaged situation : a muddled mess
I am not that familiar with the term bourach, but one of the meanings given in your own link is "mess," possibly deriving from the original meaning of a dwelling in a bad state of upkeep.
So the writer has made a slightly humorous attempt to bowdlerize his statement by replacing the vulgar portion of cluster fuck with something else. Whether the attempt worked and got the desired effect is another question.
answered 3 hours ago
cobaltduck
11.4k13372
1
That makes total sense! I never considered clusterfuck as a source (although I am vaguely familiar with it). Would you take a stab at a definition, in the light of what you've said? For instance, would it be fair to describe the meaning of the quote in my question as "not just a mess but a total and utter mess"?
– The Dark Lord
2 hours ago
1
By the by, I don't think it necessarily has the effect of bowdlerising clusterfuck, rather of playfully making bourach more emphatic. If it does modify clusterfuck then it 'Scottishises' it, giving it a distinctive Scottish nature. Which suits the SNP down to the ground. I do at least know more about Scottish politics than I do about Scottish linguistics! I do rather like it as a phrase. Playful and mischeivous.
– The Dark Lord
2 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
accepted
The writer of this article is assuming the reader is familiar with a rather vulgar term, cluster fuck, given by M-W as:
a complex and utterly disordered and mismanaged situation : a muddled mess
I am not that familiar with the term bourach, but one of the meanings given in your own link is "mess," possibly deriving from the original meaning of a dwelling in a bad state of upkeep.
So the writer has made a slightly humorous attempt to bowdlerize his statement by replacing the vulgar portion of cluster fuck with something else. Whether the attempt worked and got the desired effect is another question.
answered 3 hours ago
cobaltduck
11.4k13372
1
That makes total sense! I never considered clusterfuck as a source (although I am vaguely familiar with it). Would you take a stab at a definition, in the light of what you've said? For instance, would it be fair to describe the meaning of the quote in my question as "not just a mess but a total and utter mess"?
– The Dark Lord
2 hours ago
1
By the by, I don't think it necessarily has the effect of bowdlerising clusterfuck, rather of playfully making bourach more emphatic. If it does modify clusterfuck then it 'Scottishises' it, giving it a distinctive Scottish nature. Which suits the SNP down to the ground. I do at least know more about Scottish politics than I do about Scottish linguistics! I do rather like it as a phrase. Playful and mischeivous.
– The Dark Lord
2 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
accepted
up vote
4
down vote
accepted
The writer of this article is assuming the reader is familiar with a rather vulgar term, cluster fuck, given by M-W as:
a complex and utterly disordered and mismanaged situation : a muddled mess
I am not that familiar with the term bourach, but one of the meanings given in your own link is "mess," possibly deriving from the original meaning of a dwelling in a bad state of upkeep.
So the writer has made a slightly humorous attempt to bowdlerize his statement by replacing the vulgar portion of cluster fuck with something else. Whether the attempt worked and got the desired effect is another question.
answered 3 hours ago
cobaltduck
11.4k13372
The writer of this article is assuming the reader is familiar with a rather vulgar term, cluster fuck, given by M-W as:
a complex and utterly disordered and mismanaged situation : a muddled mess
I am not that familiar with the term bourach, but one of the meanings given in your own link is "mess," possibly deriving from the original meaning of a dwelling in a bad state of upkeep.
So the writer has made a slightly humorous attempt to bowdlerize his statement by replacing the vulgar portion of cluster fuck with something else. Whether the attempt worked and got the desired effect is another question.
answered 3 hours ago
cobaltduck
11.4k13372
answered 3 hours ago
cobaltduck
11.4k13372
answered 3 hours ago
cobaltduck
11.4k13372
answered 3 hours ago
cobaltduck
11.4k13372
11.4k13372
1
That makes total sense! I never considered clusterfuck as a source (although I am vaguely familiar with it). Would you take a stab at a definition, in the light of what you've said? For instance, would it be fair to describe the meaning of the quote in my question as "not just a mess but a total and utter mess"?
– The Dark Lord
2 hours ago
1
By the by, I don't think it necessarily has the effect of bowdlerising clusterfuck, rather of playfully making bourach more emphatic. If it does modify clusterfuck then it 'Scottishises' it, giving it a distinctive Scottish nature. Which suits the SNP down to the ground. I do at least know more about Scottish politics than I do about Scottish linguistics! I do rather like it as a phrase. Playful and mischeivous.
– The Dark Lord
2 hours ago
add a comment |
1
That makes total sense! I never considered clusterfuck as a source (although I am vaguely familiar with it). Would you take a stab at a definition, in the light of what you've said? For instance, would it be fair to describe the meaning of the quote in my question as "not just a mess but a total and utter mess"?
– The Dark Lord
2 hours ago
1
By the by, I don't think it necessarily has the effect of bowdlerising clusterfuck, rather of playfully making bourach more emphatic. If it does modify clusterfuck then it 'Scottishises' it, giving it a distinctive Scottish nature. Which suits the SNP down to the ground. I do at least know more about Scottish politics than I do about Scottish linguistics! I do rather like it as a phrase. Playful and mischeivous.
– The Dark Lord
2 hours ago
1
1
That makes total sense! I never considered clusterfuck as a source (although I am vaguely familiar with it). Would you take a stab at a definition, in the light of what you've said? For instance, would it be fair to describe the meaning of the quote in my question as "not just a mess but a total and utter mess"?
– The Dark Lord
2 hours ago
That makes total sense! I never considered clusterfuck as a source (although I am vaguely familiar with it). Would you take a stab at a definition, in the light of what you've said? For instance, would it be fair to describe the meaning of the quote in my question as "not just a mess but a total and utter mess"?
– The Dark Lord
2 hours ago
1
1
By the by, I don't think it necessarily has the effect of bowdlerising clusterfuck, rather of playfully making bourach more emphatic. If it does modify clusterfuck then it 'Scottishises' it, giving it a distinctive Scottish nature. Which suits the SNP down to the ground. I do at least know more about Scottish politics than I do about Scottish linguistics! I do rather like it as a phrase. Playful and mischeivous.
– The Dark Lord
2 hours ago
By the by, I don't think it necessarily has the effect of bowdlerising clusterfuck, rather of playfully making bourach more emphatic. If it does modify clusterfuck then it 'Scottishises' it, giving it a distinctive Scottish nature. Which suits the SNP down to the ground. I do at least know more about Scottish politics than I do about Scottish linguistics! I do rather like it as a phrase. Playful and mischeivous.
– The Dark Lord
2 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
The more common spelling of this is
clusterburach
meaning something like an 'awful great big complicated mess'. It has been used commonly recently to describe the legal difficulties in Brexit negotiations.
An example usage from recent news:
Scotland does deserve better. No reasonable person looking at the clusterburach at Westminster this week can deny that.”
It of course is patterned after the much more pejorative/taboo 'clusterfuck', a big mess. The interesting part is the minced oath 'búrach' which is Scots and Irish Gaelic for 'mess'. So 'clusterburach' is two euphemism steps away from 'clusterfuck'.
'Búrach' also means 'duck', which may have been a multilingual rhyming euphemism (this is very questionable but entertaining). In other words, a cluster of ducks is not necessarily evocative of a terrible complication, but is associated by translation first and then by rhyming with a taboo word for 'a great big mess'.
answered 1 hour ago
Mitch
49.7k1599207
1
I'm going to start using "clusterduck" in casual conversation until it turns into a thing
– automaton
31 mins ago
1
Do you have a source for 'Búrach' meaning duck? Dwelly has three pages of results for Gaelic duck-related words, but none of them resemble Búrach', likewise on learnGaelic. Also, can you expand on bourach being a 'minced oath'? The word is in common use in my part of the world to mean 'mess' and I've not previously been aware of its being a euphemism and certainly have no experience of it being in any way taboo.
– Spagirl
12 mins ago
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
The more common spelling of this is
clusterburach
meaning something like an 'awful great big complicated mess'. It has been used commonly recently to describe the legal difficulties in Brexit negotiations.
An example usage from recent news:
Scotland does deserve better. No reasonable person looking at the clusterburach at Westminster this week can deny that.”
It of course is patterned after the much more pejorative/taboo 'clusterfuck', a big mess. The interesting part is the minced oath 'búrach' which is Scots and Irish Gaelic for 'mess'. So 'clusterburach' is two euphemism steps away from 'clusterfuck'.
'Búrach' also means 'duck', which may have been a multilingual rhyming euphemism (this is very questionable but entertaining). In other words, a cluster of ducks is not necessarily evocative of a terrible complication, but is associated by translation first and then by rhyming with a taboo word for 'a great big mess'.
answered 1 hour ago
Mitch
49.7k1599207
1
I'm going to start using "clusterduck" in casual conversation until it turns into a thing
– automaton
31 mins ago
1
Do you have a source for 'Búrach' meaning duck? Dwelly has three pages of results for Gaelic duck-related words, but none of them resemble Búrach', likewise on learnGaelic. Also, can you expand on bourach being a 'minced oath'? The word is in common use in my part of the world to mean 'mess' and I've not previously been aware of its being a euphemism and certainly have no experience of it being in any way taboo.
– Spagirl
12 mins ago
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
The more common spelling of this is
clusterburach
meaning something like an 'awful great big complicated mess'. It has been used commonly recently to describe the legal difficulties in Brexit negotiations.
An example usage from recent news:
Scotland does deserve better. No reasonable person looking at the clusterburach at Westminster this week can deny that.”
It of course is patterned after the much more pejorative/taboo 'clusterfuck', a big mess. The interesting part is the minced oath 'búrach' which is Scots and Irish Gaelic for 'mess'. So 'clusterburach' is two euphemism steps away from 'clusterfuck'.
'Búrach' also means 'duck', which may have been a multilingual rhyming euphemism (this is very questionable but entertaining). In other words, a cluster of ducks is not necessarily evocative of a terrible complication, but is associated by translation first and then by rhyming with a taboo word for 'a great big mess'.
answered 1 hour ago
Mitch
49.7k1599207
The more common spelling of this is
clusterburach
meaning something like an 'awful great big complicated mess'. It has been used commonly recently to describe the legal difficulties in Brexit negotiations.
An example usage from recent news:
Scotland does deserve better. No reasonable person looking at the clusterburach at Westminster this week can deny that.”
It of course is patterned after the much more pejorative/taboo 'clusterfuck', a big mess. The interesting part is the minced oath 'búrach' which is Scots and Irish Gaelic for 'mess'. So 'clusterburach' is two euphemism steps away from 'clusterfuck'.
'Búrach' also means 'duck', which may have been a multilingual rhyming euphemism (this is very questionable but entertaining). In other words, a cluster of ducks is not necessarily evocative of a terrible complication, but is associated by translation first and then by rhyming with a taboo word for 'a great big mess'.
answered 1 hour ago
Mitch
49.7k1599207
edited 35 mins ago
answered 1 hour ago
Mitch
49.7k1599207
answered 1 hour ago
Mitch
49.7k1599207
answered 1 hour ago
Mitch
49.7k1599207
49.7k1599207
1
I'm going to start using "clusterduck" in casual conversation until it turns into a thing
– automaton
31 mins ago
1
Do you have a source for 'Búrach' meaning duck? Dwelly has three pages of results for Gaelic duck-related words, but none of them resemble Búrach', likewise on learnGaelic. Also, can you expand on bourach being a 'minced oath'? The word is in common use in my part of the world to mean 'mess' and I've not previously been aware of its being a euphemism and certainly have no experience of it being in any way taboo.
– Spagirl
12 mins ago
add a comment |
1
I'm going to start using "clusterduck" in casual conversation until it turns into a thing
– automaton
31 mins ago
1
Do you have a source for 'Búrach' meaning duck? Dwelly has three pages of results for Gaelic duck-related words, but none of them resemble Búrach', likewise on learnGaelic. Also, can you expand on bourach being a 'minced oath'? The word is in common use in my part of the world to mean 'mess' and I've not previously been aware of its being a euphemism and certainly have no experience of it being in any way taboo.
– Spagirl
12 mins ago
1
1
I'm going to start using "clusterduck" in casual conversation until it turns into a thing
– automaton
31 mins ago
I'm going to start using "clusterduck" in casual conversation until it turns into a thing
– automaton
31 mins ago
1
1
Do you have a source for 'Búrach' meaning duck? Dwelly has three pages of results for Gaelic duck-related words, but none of them resemble Búrach', likewise on learnGaelic. Also, can you expand on bourach being a 'minced oath'? The word is in common use in my part of the world to mean 'mess' and I've not previously been aware of its being a euphemism and certainly have no experience of it being in any way taboo.
– Spagirl
12 mins ago
Do you have a source for 'Búrach' meaning duck? Dwelly has three pages of results for Gaelic duck-related words, but none of them resemble Búrach', likewise on learnGaelic. Also, can you expand on bourach being a 'minced oath'? The word is in common use in my part of the world to mean 'mess' and I've not previously been aware of its being a euphemism and certainly have no experience of it being in any way taboo.
– Spagirl
12 mins ago
add a comment |
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We're way past clusterburach, most commentators agree we are now well into omniburach territory. I put great faith in my local MSP's scots/gaelic/english vocabulary.
– Spagirl
3 mins ago