Devoted to technical writing and technical writers

The children of the 60s and early 70s will remember the word BUMMER very well. It was used quite often to describe any situation that did not quite turn out well or as expected. Thus, police crashing a pot session would be a bummer! Or getting a failing grade would also be a bummer. Or, if one got hit with something unfair, he would be a victim of a “bum rap”. Taken for a ride, he would have been given a “bum steer”.

The word BUMMER comes from a German word describing a Bum! It is no accident that when one “bums” a cigarette, one acts much like a loafer or bum. The allusion is clearly about hobos who don’t work and beg for almost anything, including cigarettes.

The more carefree attitude of the 60s also gave new meaning to the word BUM. To unshackle oneself from the strictures and rules of the day and age gave one a new-found freedom never experienced before. Men grew their hair long, women dressed like the flower children of those days. It became fashionable to “do one’s thing”. Thus, the word BUM became attached to certain preoccupations: Beach Bum, Ski Bum, etc., describing freedom from any form of social convention.

sourced by JMJF