# Why do people say "my bad" ?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 13, 2003, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720 "2003-02-13T01:13:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OddTunes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f475e1/32.png) [@OddTunes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OddTunes)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720/1 "2003-02-13T01:13:20Z")
I find more and more people are using this term and I have no idea how it came to be, or for that matter, what it means exactly. I would guess it means something like “sorry, my mistake”, but why not say that? Saying “my bad” just sounds stupid to me. Who invented this phrase, BTW? ---
**Author:** ![man779977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/59ef9b/32.png) [@man779977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/man779977)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720/2 "2003-02-13T01:55:19Z")
I know that it means something along the lines of “im sorry, that was my fault” but that would be WAY too polite for people these days so they had to invent something less polite so “my bad” came about. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![PigBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/97f17d/32.png) [@PigBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigBoy)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720/3 "2003-02-13T01:59:52Z")
[This](http://www.word-detective.com/121597.html) site says: > [@](#): > > “My bad,” an exclamation meaning “my fault” or “my mistake,” evidently arose in the mid-1980’s among players (primarily Black) in informal “pick-up” basketball games. One player would throw a bad pass or flub an easy shot and say “My bad” as a sort of handy shorthand for a more elaborate apology. The term’s transition to more general slang use was apparently greatly accelerated by its inclusion in the enormously popular film “Clueless” a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![NotBob13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e19b73/32.png) [@NotBob13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotBob13)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720/4 "2003-02-13T02:09:00Z")
“My Bad” means "My fault"and is used loosly, so the meaning is appropriate, but not always gramatically correct. It seems to have originated from the urban streets (ie. it’s Ebonics). The trend of language is always to get courser (less polite) and shorter. This should only be used very informally. I say it to people who are my friends/coworkers and not anybody else, as it seems to informal for most situations. My friends/coworkers are used to me screwing up, and saying “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that in that manner.” seems a bit wordy when “my bad” will do. I used to use “my fault” for this, untill “my bad” was popularized. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720/5 "2003-02-13T02:29:53Z")
My bad doing? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720/6 "2003-02-13T02:30:56Z")
[hijack] When /and why, did the USA dump the ‘to’ from the prhase “write to me”?[/hijack] Every time I hear someone say “write me” it feels like there’s a hole in the sentence. Like “my name peter” or “what time it?” ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720/7 "2003-02-13T03:00:19Z")
When I was in High School (1984-1988), it was common to hear “my bag” as slang for somebody who was left holding the bag - i.e. screwed up. I had always assumed that “my bad” evolved from that. ---
**Author:** ![Cillasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Cillasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cillasi)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720/8 "2003-02-13T03:11:36Z")
I thought “bad” was being used as a noun equivalent to “error.” My error = my bad. So, in any given situation, when someone says “who did that?” the response would be “my bad” = I did it. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720/9 "2003-02-13T03:13:31Z")
I remember hearing it phrased as a question; sort of a contraction: " 'm I bad?" ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720/10 "2003-02-13T03:22:26Z")
My friends and I used this phrase in the mid-70s and we said because the black guys in our class said it. ---
**Author:** ![royjwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@royjwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/royjwood)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720/11 "2003-02-13T04:01:36Z")
It comes from pure stupidity and laziness, nothing else. It is obvisously incorrect grammatically, the comrrect version would read something more like this: “That was my mistake.” or maybe, “Oopsa, I am sorry, that was my mistake.” ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720/12 "2003-02-13T04:24:56Z")
_Of course_ it’s incorrect grammatically, it’s _slang_. It’s supposed to be. ---
**Author:** ![leechbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@leechbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leechbabe)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720/13 "2003-02-13T04:41:48Z")
I picked it up from hearing it alot on Buffy (I think Season 1) and now just can’t get rid of the habit. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720/14 "2003-02-13T04:52:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by royjwood \* > It comes from pure stupidity and laziness, nothing else. It’s just like when people use run-on sentences, right? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720/15 "2003-02-13T04:55:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lobsang \* > \*\*[hijack] When /and why, did the USA dump the ‘to’ from the prhase “write to me”?[/hijack] > > Every time I hear someone say “write me” it feels like there’s a hole in the sentence. > > Like “my name peter” or “what time it?” \*\* There is no “hole” at all. The problem is that the USA is using a proper dative in the ancient English fashion while other speakers of English use that “to me” neologism. “Write me.” is essentially equivalent to “Schreib’ mir.” The difference is that English doesn’t have the inflection it used to. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720/16 "2003-02-13T04:58:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by royjwood \* > \*\*It comes from pure stupidity and laziness, nothing else. > > It is obvisously incorrect grammatically, the comrrect version would read something more like this: > > “That was my mistake.” or maybe, “Oopsa, I am sorry, that was my mistake.” \*\* Prithee, good cuz, know ye whereof a goodman might have recourse to a via medicum of discourse and grammar proper? In a nutshell, your claim of “pure stupidity and laziness” is itself a remarkable example of pure stupidity and ignorance of language. Do you only use the Bard’s phrasings? Indeed, I’ve come across English professors who decry everything after Chaucer! Nevertheless, they do so in modern English. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720/17 "2003-02-13T05:00:41Z")
I said it _feels_ like there’s a hole. It still does. Because I am so used to the phrase “write to me”. I am not saying we’re right and you are wrong. What is a neologism? ---
**Author:** ![mcbiggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7c8e57/32.png) [@mcbiggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcbiggins)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720/18 "2003-02-13T07:26:59Z")
Remember, this phrase originated in street basketball, and was therefore uttered by people who were running and jumping around and quite often out of breath. This phrase is therefore condensed as much as possible. All it takes are two one syllable words to communicate that a fault was made “bad” and who did it “my”. And in the middle of a game, you’d be less concerned with proper grammar and more concerned with keeping up your pace and not getting punched for dropping a great pass or missing an important shot. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720/19 "2003-02-13T08:04:34Z")
I may be being naive here, but I always thought it was a slangy translation of _Mea culpa_. This seems an unlikely explanation if it originated in street basketball. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720/20 "2003-02-13T09:09:28Z")
Once upon a time, I assumed that it was derived from a witty response to a grammatic error that is common on the net: **Doper1:** i hate u, your stupid! **Doper2:** My stupid? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-my-bad/154720.md?page=2)