Words & TermsPeople and character
bodgie
Also: bodgy, bodgey, bodger
A 1950s male youth associated with distinctive dress, music and rebellion.
In a sentence
The film dresses its young rebel as a 1950s bodgie.
Where it came from
The youth label emerged in postwar Australia for a fashion-conscious male rebel, comparable with Britain’s teddy boy. It is related to bodger or bodgy, meaning fake or shoddy, and is now chiefly historical.
- First recorded
- 1950
- Initial era
- 1950–1999
- Where used
- Australia-wide; youth sense associated with postwar cities