Etymology Unknown. First appeared in Australia in the 1980s. Possibly in reference to supposedly unsophisticated people from remote outback places such as the Bogan River or Bogan Gate (cf. dubbo from Dubbo).
Bogans were Lockie's least favorite kind of people.1999, Tim Winton, Lockie Leonard, Scumbuster, page 6:
The Reservoir I grew up in was populated by menacing, toothless Torana-driving bogans, crushed menthol-smoking pensioners and toddlers who swore.2009, Catherine Deveny, Free to a Good Home, page 47:
2
New Zealand, Derogatory, Ethnic, Slang, Slur An Anglo-Celtic member of a lower socioeconomic group, stereotypically classified as wearing black jumpers or black concert T-shirts.
Etymology Unknown. First appeared in Australia in the 1980s. Possibly in reference to supposedly unsophisticated people from remote outback places such as the Bogan River or Bogan Gate (cf. dubbo from Dubbo).
If you're coming in to cause trouble, don't bother […] bogan it up at home.2008, Lord Mayor Robert Doyle, (Please provide the book title or journal name):
bogan
noun
Etymology Uncertain. Perhaps a contraction of pokelogan influenced by bog (or bogue), or a blend of logan (from pokelogan) + bog.
1
Canada, Maine Any narrow water or creek, particularly a tranquil backwater.
All around the shores of the narrow bogan crowded the beasts, watching with wide, fascinated eyes the flight and fall of these disastrous missiles.2001, Charles G. D. Roberts, Seán Virgo, Kindred of the Wild, page 130:
Negative Stereotypes: Indians, natives, bogans, nates, […]2013, Feathers of Hope: A First Nations Youth Action Plan, archived from the original on 24 Apr 2016, page 68:
Greg Quachegan, a teacher at Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School, was walking with his young daughters when someone yelled, “Bogans,” at them. He has no idea what it means, but it’s a slur aboriginal people hear often.2015 December 8, Tanya Talaga, “One rape. A hate crime. Thunder Bay's simmering divides come to light”, in Toronto Star:
2 more examples
"There's young men, on the weekends, they will throw beer bottles at you and yell out 'bogan' or 'squaw' or 'whore,'" said Deanne Hupfield, who grew up in Thunder Bay.2017 February 7, Lenard Monkman, “Indigenous people say racism-tainted drive-by violence all too common”, in CBC News:
Is that the same blue truck that is throwing rocks out the passenger window and screaming at natives calling them bogans walking on the street?2017 June 1, “Evidence from First Nation student who survived Thunder Bay river attack resurfaces following eye-witness claim”, in National News: