User Panel
User Panel
User Panel
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 4:28:04 PM EST
[#1]
Old southern term mainly used by incarcerated men.
Also slang for Sorry Sum Of a Bitch. At least that’s what some inmates have told. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 4:29:59 PM EST
[#2]
Pretty common around here.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 4:30:05 PM EST
[#3]
Quote HistoryQuoted: As a project manager I’ve been called boss many times on job sites. Some of the guys have tattoos that indicate they did some time, some I know have never been arrested, and others I don’t know. I suspect that it’s origins were in the south, and that it moved throughout the country during reconstruction. Guys heard it on jobs and picked it up, using the terms themselves despite not being from the south. The prison system contained enough blacks (and whites) who migrated north for work that it took root there as well. I hear it from guys who are white, black, and hispanic, both from guys I know as friends and guys I don’t really know at all. I’ve probably used the word myself. I don’t know for sure, but certainly can’t swear I’ve never called anyone boss. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: I've worked construction 25 years and yes the ones that use it repeatedly have usually been inside. As a project manager I’ve been called boss many times on job sites. Some of the guys have tattoos that indicate they did some time, some I know have never been arrested, and others I don’t know. I suspect that it’s origins were in the south, and that it moved throughout the country during reconstruction. Guys heard it on jobs and picked it up, using the terms themselves despite not being from the south. The prison system contained enough blacks (and whites) who migrated north for work that it took root there as well. I hear it from guys who are white, black, and hispanic, both from guys I know as friends and guys I don’t really know at all. I’ve probably used the word myself. I don’t know for sure, but certainly can’t swear I’ve never called anyone boss. A good deal of migration out of the South into industrial northern cities and out West happened well after reconstruction - plenty in the 1910s up to WWII. This article makes a big deal of it as a black thing, but that's probably because the data shows that better. But, plenty of poorer white folks chased after jobs all over those areas as well. Look at the white migration into old factory town after old factory town, and "Southern" is often every bit as significant as any of number of European countries in terms of family origins. So, if Southern, that could explain it. Wouldn't explain why a retired Southern cop would only associate it with prisons, though. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 4:30:49 PM EST
[#4]
You’re not the boss of me!
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 4:31:27 PM EST
[#5]
When I was in LE in uniform (Georgia) it was pretty common for ex con types to call me that. Especially older ones.
Now I think it’s just one of those terms people use with no idea the origin. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 4:31:54 PM EST
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Old Southern slang IMO. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 4:36:27 PM EST
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Big Boss Man Lyrics By: Smith, Dixon Music By: Smith, Dixon Big boss man, can't you hear me when I call? Big boss man, can't you hear me when I call? You ain't so big, you just tall, that's just about all. You got me working boss man, a workin' around the clock, I want a little drink of whiskey, you sure won't let me stop. Big boss man, can't you hear me when I call? You ain't so big, you just tall, that's just about all. I'm gonna get me a boss man, one gonna treat me right, I work hard in the daytime, sure get drunk at night. You ain't so big, you just tall, that's just about all. Forgot about that song. Definitely more of a a blue collar work song feel, not a prison song. But heck, now this thread has me wondering if it traces back to Slavery days. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 4:39:51 PM EST
[#8]
I've been called boss or boss man by all kinds of people, usually when I'm a customer at a store or restaurant.
I have no idea of any of their correctional facility statuses. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 4:47:34 PM EST
[#9]
that's Bossman SIR peon...
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 4:47:36 PM EST
[#10]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Forgot about that song. Definitely more of a a blue collar work song feel, not a prison song. But heck, now this thread has me wondering if it traces back to Slavery days. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Big Boss Man Lyrics By: Smith, Dixon Music By: Smith, Dixon Big boss man, can't you hear me when I call? Big boss man, can't you hear me when I call? You ain't so big, you just tall, that's just about all. You got me working boss man, a workin' around the clock, I want a little drink of whiskey, you sure won't let me stop. Big boss man, can't you hear me when I call? You ain't so big, you just tall, that's just about all. I'm gonna get me a boss man, one gonna treat me right, I work hard in the daytime, sure get drunk at night. You ain't so big, you just tall, that's just about all. Forgot about that song. Definitely more of a a blue collar work song feel, not a prison song. But heck, now this thread has me wondering if it traces back to Slavery days. I still get the slave vibe from those lyrics, but more so than this clearly blue collar jam. They let you dream Just a watch 'em shatter You're just a step on the boss man's ladder But you got dreams he'll never take away |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 4:49:43 PM EST
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Old Southern slang IMO. yep |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 4:52:05 PM EST
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I still get the slave vibe from those lyrics, but more so than these... Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Quoted: Big Boss Man Lyrics By: Smith, Dixon Music By: Smith, Dixon Big boss man, can't you hear me when I call? Big boss man, can't you hear me when I call? You ain't so big, you just tall, that's just about all. You got me working boss man, a workin' around the clock, I want a little drink of whiskey, you sure won't let me stop. Big boss man, can't you hear me when I call? You ain't so big, you just tall, that's just about all. I'm gonna get me a boss man, one gonna treat me right, I work hard in the daytime, sure get drunk at night. You ain't so big, you just tall, that's just about all. Forgot about that song. Definitely more of a a blue collar work song feel, not a prison song. But heck, now this thread has me wondering if it traces back to Slavery days. I still get the slave vibe from those lyrics, but more so than these... They let you dream Just a watch 'em shatter You're just a step on the boss man's ladder But you got dreams he'll never take away I think those are Dolly's lyrics, making them quite southern (well, I suppose that's always debatable whether Appalachian deserves a separate category) but definitely showing she didn't conceive the term as specifically prison-related. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 4:56:16 PM EST
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I think those are Dolly's lyrics, making them quite southern (well, I suppose that's always debatable whether Appalachian deserves a separate category) but definitely showing she didn't conceive the term as specifically prison-related. Definitely not prison related. I was tying into your blue collar mention. I think there's enough going on in both songs one could draw a thematic link back to the songs from the period of slavery. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 4:57:45 PM EST
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Pretty sure it comes from Belter Creole or just "Belter". You fucking OPA? |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 4:57:46 PM EST
[#15]
Boss man is the equivalent of english working class tugging a forelock when approaching their betters. Old black dudes and shifty white guys are the only ones I've come across that use it outside of a joke.
One that really bugs me is service industry guys that call me boss. It's patronizing and inappropriate. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 5:03:37 PM EST
[#16]
The contractor doing some work for me right now keeps calling me Boss Man.
I think it's a Southern thing. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 5:04:00 PM EST
[#17]
Convict slang.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 5:04:26 PM EST
[#18]
Prison slang
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 5:05:01 PM EST
[#19]
Common in the Oilfield for my entire career
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 5:06:33 PM EST
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Definitely not prison related. I was tying into your blue collar mention. I think there's enough going on in both songs one could draw a thematic link back to the songs from the period of slavery. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: I think those are Dolly's lyrics, making them quite southern (well, I suppose that's always debatable whether Appalachian deserves a separate category) but definitely showing she didn't conceive the term as specifically prison-related. Definitely not prison related. I was tying into your blue collar mention. I think there's enough going on in both songs one could draw a thematic link back to the songs from the period of slavery. Yup. I'm more and more thinking that. It would be a common denominator that would also explain the prison connection. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 5:15:38 PM EST
[#21]
I gets used all the time down here. Term of endearment or derogatory based on their attitude.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 6:03:08 PM EST
[#22]
I've never been to prison or jail and I'm not from the south and I call my boss's boss man or boss all the time.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 6:19:15 PM EST
[#23]
The only boss man I ever knew was a guy named Ray Traylor. If you messed with him you were gonna do some hard time.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 6:23:49 PM EST
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted: This, I’ve always seen it as a negative term. Oh, it’s a put down. It’s the “bless your heart” from the first quartile crowd. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 6:28:20 PM EST
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Oh, it’s a put down. It’s the “bless your heart” from the first quartile crowd. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: This, I’ve always seen it as a negative term. Oh, it’s a put down. It’s the “bless your heart” from the first quartile crowd. I always took it as the more acceptable version of cracker |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 6:30:37 PM EST
[#26]
I dont know if its a southern thing
But it chaps my hide when someone calls me Boss! Slick! Or Chief! 
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 6:30:47 PM EST
[#27]
There's none of this spelled backwards shit. It means big old sack of shit.
I get called boss all the time. Drives me insane |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 6:31:12 PM EST
[#28]
It’s slave slang.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 6:35:45 PM EST
[#29]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Old Southern slang IMO. This. My dog is even named Boss. I often refer to children i care for as "Boss". It'll pump up a lottle down ego. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 6:37:45 PM EST
[#30]
Quote HistoryQuoted: It's convict slang. Not everywhere. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 6:39:46 PM EST
[#31]
Sarcasm
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 6:43:13 PM EST
[#32]
Southern thing.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 6:45:45 PM EST
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted: There's none of this spelled backwards shit. It means big old sack of shit. I get called boss all the time. Drives me insane I’ve heard both versions. The point is that it’s intent is as a sly insult, regardless of the true abbreviation/origin. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 7:10:37 PM EST
[#34]
I think it goes back further. Like to slavery times.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 7:11:44 PM EST
[#35]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Other languages use the term and it would not surprise me if Scotch or Irish Gaelic have those words of address. Southern slang/ accent is literally Gaelic. Explained in a Thomas Sowell book. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 7:14:37 PM EST
[#36]
Southern thing. Almost universally used as sarcasm.
If you are dickhead enough to think it's serious, congratulations. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 7:15:24 PM EST
[#37]
https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=boss
boss (n.1) "overseer, one who employs or oversees workers," 1640s, American English, from Dutch baas "a master," Middle Dutch baes, a word of obscure origin. If the original sense was "uncle," perhaps it is related to Old High German basa "aunt," but some sources discount this theory. The Dutch form baas is attested in English from 1620s as the standard title of a Dutch ship's captain. The word's popularity in U.S. may reflect egalitarian avoidance of master (n.) as well as the need to distinguish slave from free labor. The slang adjective meaning "excellent" is recorded in 1880s, revived, apparently independently, in teen and jazz slang in 1950s. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 7:17:28 PM EST
[#38]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Not everywhere. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: It's convict slang. Not everywhere. The guy in charge of the chain gang was the Boss Man. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 7:42:25 PM EST
[#39]
Quote HistoryQuoted: When I was in LE in uniform (Georgia) it was pretty common for ex con types to call me that. Especially older ones. Now I think it’s just one of those terms people use with no idea the origin. This. Especially when I worked putting in traffic plans or directing traffic on job sites, the labor formen would call me bossman. Most of them did time. They were hard workers and didn’t take any shit from the laborers. You could tell most ex cons on the streets were when they called you bossman. Never really had a white person call me that. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 8:22:59 PM EST
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I've worked construction 25 years and yes the ones that use it repeatedly have usually been inside. Im a retired boss now and occasionally have former coworkers come up where I live and fish for the weekend. A couple of them still call me boss man. That's what they called me for 25 years, why stop now? |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 8:29:05 PM EST
[#41]
Quoted: My father in law is a retired cop. The other day, an older black lady serving him food at the hospital cafeteria called him "Boss Man". He asked her if she had ever been in jail, because only convicts use that term. I've heard this many times over the years, even used it myself a few times (not a convict). It's just a Southern expression IMHO. Maybe even more widespread than the South? What says GD? Boss, I needs to talk to ya. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 8:31:03 PM EST
[#42]
I get called that by enough people at random here in Georgia that I think it’s a southern thing. Like in Texas they call everyone hoss.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 8:38:51 PM EST
[#43]
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 8:50:20 PM EST
[#44]
Its not a southern thing imo. I hear this from foreigners all the time and people hoping to gain favor.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 9:07:23 PM EST
[#45]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Oh, it’s a put down. It’s the “bless your heart” from the first quartile crowd. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 9:13:15 PM EST
[#46]
Think it's a southern thing. Used to get called that sometimes on construction sites and I wasn't the boss.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 9:17:09 PM EST
[#47]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Oh, it’s a put down. It’s the “bless your heart” from the first quartile crowd. What did you call me? |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 10:09:13 PM EST
[#48]
I always assume someone who uses that term has done time.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 10:19:58 PM EST
[#49]
It's really two different things. There's always been the "boss man" in any business. The guy or girl who tells you what to do. It's used pretty informally though. That's what led to prisoner's calling guards "boss man". In prison, especially several decades ago, it was the norm. Even today, many inmates carry it with them after being released and refer to anyone who's in charge as "boss man" or just "boss".
During my time as LEO it was pretty much a guarantee that if someone called you boss on a traffic stop or other interaction, that they were ex-cons. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/6/2023 10:20:20 PM EST
[#50]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I say it to a boss if they're my friend and know I'm joking. I always thought it implied slave driver. |
|
|
Win a FREE Membership!
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.
