bog-standard

Meaning

Utterly basic, ordinary, or standard; unremarkable, unexceptional, etc.

Synonyms

customary

usual

101

Translations

أساسي

basic

de base

basico

fondante

basis-

basic

basilar

bázico

bazal

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˌbɒɡˈstændəd/

Etymology

Unknown, but probably derived from a corruption of box-standard under influence from bog (“toilet”), possibly via bog-wheel (“Cambridge slang for bicycle”), or from bog (“unsettled swampland”) in reference to a lack of sophistication or polish. Sometimes folk etymologized as separately deriving from bog (“toilet”) + standard after a supposed similarity among chamberpots or toilets (despite box-standard predating it by a century and bog's original use only in reference to latrines and outhouses) or from the unattested acronym BOG, allegedly short for British or German, referring to the supposed dominance of British and German engineering during Victorian times.