Talk:bomb

Interpretation #2 of the noun (an attractive woman)

Shouldn't this be labeled as slang as well? 192.114.82.66 16:17, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

Okay DAVilla 18:09, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

Copied from RFV

In the sense of "an attractive woman". Is this different from calling someone "the bomb"? DAVilla 08:51, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps a reference to a blonde bombshell? A Google search for "she's a bomb" [1] turns up one reference work listing it as "Hebrew slang", i.e. not English, and another relating back to the blonde bombshell idiom, but no supporting language in English. No support from the phrases "she was a bomb" or "she is a bomb". Then there's the quote from the song "Athena" by The Who (..."she's just a girl/She's a bomb"), where it's ambiguous what exactly is meant (at least to me :-). --Jeffqyzt 17:33, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

...but 331 b.g.c. hits for sex bomb from early 1970s on. Perhaps excitement rather than beauty is the key. --Enginear 18:44, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Looks redundant to def #4, to me. (But why is that listed as British? Surfer slang origin, surely?) --Connel MacKenzie 18:55, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

I had moved the bomb to the appropriate page, but then reinstated that def. as chiefly British after checking dictionary.com. DAVilla 19:57, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

If I were a tiny bit more curious, I'd investgate whether they have separate origins. It seems far too implausible that the surfer meaning came from WWI / WWII bombing of Europe. Perhaps the difference is between da bomb and the bomb. But that google search seems biased towards rap, even though da bomb is used far outside of AAVE contexts. <shrug> --Connel MacKenzie 16:52, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Google hits for "she's a bomb" (not "the bomb") including music. Withdrawn. DAVilla 18:09, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

Formerly pronounced "bum"

This word was once pronounced "bum" rather than "bom". Equinox ◑ 22:40, 2 September 2012 (UTC)

A source for this: Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary. Equinox ◑ 05:02, 16 December 2015 (UTC)

Removed Australian pronunciation

I have removed the claimed Australian pronunciation "/bɔm/", and instead tagged the UK pronunciation "/bɒm/" as being valid Australian English also. I certainly don't pronounce "bomb" to rhyme with "form" (instead of "from"); I don't know anyone who does; I don't hear it that way on TV or radio; and my Macquarie backs me up on the choice of IPA. -- Perey (talk) 08:59, 12 December 2014 (UTC)

I don't know about Australian, but you may have misinterpreted the transcription. For all I know, [bɔm] is indeed a common realisation in the UK, just that "form" is [fɔːm] or [foːm], so still distinct.

(steak) bomb derived sense

I wonder if the steak bomb sandwich is the source of the slang sense "___ bomb" describing something, often but not always food, that comes overflowing with one specific ingredient (even if it has others). We already have calorie bomb, which I had actually not noticed until now. But there are others, including positive senses, such as protein bomb for any food that has a surprising amount of protein for its size. —Soap— 19:57, 13 December 2022 (UTC)