# Is "bub" an insult? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 31, 2008, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461 "2008-10-31T17:23:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461/21 "2008-10-31T18:59:47Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > It’s not an insult, but it can be sort of confrontational. > > New England. Thirded. ---
**Author:** ![Incensed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Incensed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incensed)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461/22 "2008-10-31T19:02:00Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > …and the FA replied “we’re on a plane, bub”, and walked away. He might as well have said, “we’re on a plane, you moronic douchebag”. In that context, it was an 8, maybe 8.5… You don’t hear it around here, but if you did, it would be in this context-i.e. someone pre-empting an overt insult and substituting “bub” in a condescending, dismissive tone. I’d have to call it about a 4-5 because of the almost unvarying context. Appalachian Virginia. Here’s the rest of the hierarchy, IMO, keeping in mind interactions between strangers or mere acquaintances… 0-Sir -tipping point where respect becomes unctuosity- 1-Man 2-Dude 3-Buddy -tipping point where unctuosity becomes condescension- 4-Chief 5-Bub 6-Boy (sans racial implications) -tipping point where condescension becomes outright derision- 7-Jackass 8-Fuckstick 9-Bitch (exchanged between males) -tipping point where derision becomes hatred- Rank 10 is comprised by racial/ethnic/sexual/homosexual slurs. The word ‘pal’ is omitted because the last confirmed utterance of same occurred sometime in the late 1960’s. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461/23 "2008-10-31T19:08:34Z")
Whether or not “bub” is an insult or not depends on whether a put down is implied or inferred in the context of the two parties involved. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461/24 "2008-10-31T19:14:24Z")
I think it’s a little confrontational, but in the scheme of things, pretty mild. Maybe a 3, if 0 is not at all confrontational. I’m trying to think of times that people would use it in a NON confrontational way … and I can’t think of very many (with the exception of people who use Bub and/or Bubba as a personal nickname). If you were in the parking lot of Home Depot, and a stranger stopped to help you lift a large bag of topsoil into the trunk, I can imagine someone saying “Thanks a lot, man.” Or “Thanks a lot, buddy.” But not “Thanks a lot, bub.” That would sound so weird to me. I’m from New York. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461/25 "2008-10-31T19:39:46Z")
Chicago, and I’d put it on a par with “Buster.” Not an insult, but a bit confrontational. I also call babies “bubs”…“Oh, what a cute little bub!” ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461/26 "2008-10-31T19:47:38Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > It entirely depends on the context and intonation, and perhaps the location of the speaker. “Sir” and “ma’am” are not insults in the American south–often hthey are practicaly de rigeur–but I understand they are considered rude and dismissive in the North. > > Yankees are strange. This. I can make “Hello, how are you” sound like anything from a friendly greeting to a foreshadowing of imminient ass-whooping, depending on how I deliver the line. Same applies to pretty much any phrase. I see no reason to take offense at a pleasantly delivered “bub” “buddy” “pal” “man” “dude” etc in most public situations. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461/27 "2008-10-31T19:55:52Z")
I think it all depends on the tone and context of what is being said. You know my ex-wife who is a bartender has a regular customer. Anytime she says something he doesn’t agree with or she says something that gets his panties in a twist, he’ll respond with something like “Well excuse me _mam!_, but blah, blah, blah…” Now is “mam” an insult? Of course not. But the way this guy says it; he sounds like he’s really saying “bitch”. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461/28 "2008-10-31T20:07:24Z")
Add me to the mildly confrontational. It’s kind of a “I can’t be bothered to learn your name, but you just annoyed me”. So maybe a 2 or 3. Minnesota. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461/29 "2008-10-31T20:20:18Z")
It’s not bad. Maybe a 1-3, depending on the tone of voice. Northern Virginia. [hijack]How about ‘my friends’? :D[/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461/30 "2008-10-31T21:12:47Z")
Words have the meanings we give them. You can call your friends motherfuckers and mean it as a term of endearment, or you can call an enemy buddy and mean it as an insult. That being said, the only time I’ve ever heard “bub” is when Wolverine uses it, and he definitely means it aggressively. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461/31 "2008-10-31T22:00:02Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > This. I can make “Hello, how are you” sound like anything from a friendly greeting to a foreshadowing of imminient ass-whooping, depending on how I deliver the line. Same applies to pretty much any phrase. > > I see no reason to take offense at a pleasantly delivered “bub” “buddy” “pal” “man” “dude” etc in most public situations. I want proof. Do it for “Sir, I have a check for $10,000,000 to deliver to you.” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461/32 "2008-10-31T22:06:34Z")
My age is showing again. I remember the 60’s TV series _My Three Sons._. William Frawley played Steve Douglas’ (Fred MacMurray) father-in-law and the boys’ grandfather. He was affectionately known as “Bub”. Not to be confused with Uncle Charley, who came along later. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461/33 "2008-11-01T00:39:52Z")
In Australia and NZ it means baby. So never used as an insult that I’ve ever heard. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461/34 "2008-11-01T00:44:45Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I want proof. Do it for “Sir, I have a check for $10,000,000 to deliver to you.” [snarl, punching left palm with right fist] Sir, I have a check for $10,000,000 to deliver to you[/snarl, punching left palm with right fist] ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461/35 "2008-11-01T02:55:41Z")
Bub to me has always been short for “Bubba”. It’s got a certain aggressive connotation for it. I for one do not like being called “Bubba”. So same for Bub. If you’re not Wolverine, don’t say Bub. Then again, I hate the word “buddy” a lot more said by strangers- it just grates on my ears. -Southern VA ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461/36 "2008-11-01T05:46:54Z")
If it’s followed by a _snick_ I’d be pretty scared. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461/37 "2008-11-01T16:30:14Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I call one of my best friends “bubba.” > > I think it’s like “chief,” or “pal,” or “bro.” It’s how you say it and mean it. Hey Me too! In fact I stole his name for my username. But then, he’s a dog. I agree with you that the tone of voice has more meaning than the word itself. [QUOTE=Ro0sh] Bub to me has always been short for “Bubba”. It’s got a certain aggressive connotation for it. I for one do not like being called “Bubba”. So same for Bub. [/Quote] Speak for yourself! Around here I get called Bubba all the time 😃 ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461/38 "2008-11-01T21:34:21Z")
I’d say about a 2. it’s like calling someone a moron, but with the added benefit of making you look like a moron yourself. ---
**Author:** ![wunderkammer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ed8c4c/32.png) [@wunderkammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wunderkammer)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461/39 "2008-11-02T03:15:47Z")
It’s friendo, but less so. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461/40 "2008-11-02T04:10:21Z")
> [@5-HT](#): > > I’d say about a 2. it’s like calling someone a moron, but with the added benefit of making you look like a moron yourself. **Unless** you have retractable, razor-sharp adamantium claw. By universal accord, persons possessing such may say it however often they wish. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bub-an-insult/470461.md?page=3)