bug



don't let the bedbugs bite

cliché Sleep soundly and well. Part of the sing-song rhyme "good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite," usually said to a child. I'll see you in the morning, love. Don't let the bedbugs bite!
See also: bite, let

fire bug

Someone who enjoys setting fires; a pyromaniac or arsonist. I'm sure that fire bug Max set our shed on fire—it wouldn't be the first time he started a fire in the neighborhood.
See also: bug, fire

be (as) snug as a bug in a rug

To be warm and cozy, typically while wrapped in blankets. My daughters are all snug as a bug in a rug watching a movie together. I hate the cold weather, so I look forward to bedtime—when I can be as snug as a bug in a rug.
See also: bug, rug, snug

bitten by the same bug

Fig. having the same need, desire, or obsession. Bob and I were both bitten by the same bug and ended up getting new cars at the same time.
See also: bitten, bug, same

bug off

 
1. Sl. to cease bothering [someone]. Hey, bug off! Your comments are annoying. I wish you would bug off!
2. Sl. Get out!; Go away! (Usually Bug off!) Bug off! Get out of my sight! Bug off and leave me alone!
See also: bug, off

bug out

 
1. Sl. to pack up and leave or retreat. Orders are to bug out by oh-nine-hundred. Okay, everybody, move it! We're bugging out.
2. Sl. to get out of somewhere fast. I gotta find a way to bug out of here without getting caught. Okay, the downpour has stopped. Let's bug out.
See also: bug, out

bug someone

to irritate someone; to bother someone. Go away! Stop bugging me! Leave me alone. Go bug someone else.

*crazy as a betsy bug

 and *crazy as a peach-orchard boar; *crazy as a loon
Rur. acting as if insane. (*Also: as ~.) Tom: Susan says she's really the Queen of England. Bill: She's crazy as a betsy bug. Jill: David's a little eccentric, isn't he? Jane: Crazy as a loon, I'd say. What's wrong with Jim? He's acting as crazy as a peach-orchard boar.
See also: betsy, bug, crazy

*cute as a bug's ear

very cute. (*Also: as ~.) That little baby is cute as a bug's ear.
See also: cute, ear

*snug as a bug in a rug

Cliché wrapped up tight, warm, and comfortable. (Playful; often used when addressing a child. *Also: as ~.) The bedroom in Aunt Jane's house was cold, but after she wrapped me up in four or five quilts and put a stocking cap on my head, I was snug as a bug in a rug and ready to go to sleep. Alan: Are you warm enough? Jane: Yes, I'm as snug as a bug in a rug.
See also: bug, rug, snug

bug out

(slang)
1. to become upset and excited I said I would do it, and then I started thinking and I was kind of bugging out about the whole thing.
2. to leave suddenly When it was time for him to show up for his army service, he bugged out for one of the islands.
See also: bug, out

be as snug as a bug in a rug

  (humorous)
to feel very comfortable and warm because you are in bed or under a cover You get in your nice warm bed with your teddy and you'll be as snug as a bug in a rug!
See also: bug, rug, snug

bug off

Also, bugger off. Go away, as in Bug off before I call the police. Both terms are often used as an imperative, as in the example, and the variant is heard more in Britain than in America. [Slang; c. 1900] For a synonym, see buzz off.
See also: bug, off

bug out

1. Bulge, as in The news will make her eyes bug out with astonishment. This expression was originally used literally for bulging eyes and later used more loosely as a sign of astonishment. [Colloquial; mid-1800s]
2. Leave, run out, as in This conference is a bore; I think I'll bug out. This usage originated as military slang for deserting and today is used more loosely. [Slang; c. 1950]
See also: bug, out

cute as a button

Also, cute as a bug's ear. Pretty or attractive in a dainty way, as in That baby is cute as a button. Cute originally was a shortening of acute, for "sharp-witted and clever," but in the early 1800s it also took on its current meaning. Other than that buttons and bug's hearing organs can be small, there is no good explanation for these similes.
See also: button, cute

put a bug in someone's ear

Give someone a hint about something, as in Janet put a bug in her husband's ear about getting the children a dog for Christmas. This idiom presumably likens the buzzing about of an insect to a hint, although the exact analogy is not clear. [c. 1900]
See also: bug, ear, put

snug as a bug in a rug

Very cozy and comfortable, as in During the blizzard we had plenty of firewood and stayed in the cottage, snug as a bug in a rug . This expression, thought to allude to a moth larva happily feeding inside a rolled-up carpet, was first recorded in 1769 and probably owes its long life to the rhyme.
See also: bug, rug, snug

what's eating you

Also, what's bugging you. What is annoying or bothering you? For example, We've conceded just about every point, so what's eating you now? or You're in a terrible mood-what's bugging you? The first slangy term, dating from the late 1800s, presumably uses eat in the sense of "consume"; the colloquial variant, from about 1940, uses bug in the sense of "annoy." Also see what's with.
See also: eating

bug off

v. Slang
To go away. Used chiefly as a command: Bug off! I'm trying to get some work done.
See also: bug, off

bug out

v.
1. To grow large; bulge outward: Your eyes will bug out when you see my new car.
2. Slang To leave some place, usually in a hurry: They made it clear they didn't want me there, so I bugged out.
3. Slang To be frightened or confused: I'm afraid of the dark, so I was bugging out during the blackout.
4. Slang To cause someone to be frightened or confused: The thought of surgery bugs me out.
See also: bug, out

bug

1. n. a flaw in a computer program. As soon as I get the bugs out, I can run my program.
2. n. someone who is enthusiastic about something. (A combining form.) Mary is a camera bug.
3. n. an obsession or urge. I’ve got this bug about making money.
4. n. a spy device for listening to someone’s conversation. I found a little bug taped under my chair.
5. tv. to conceal a microphone somewhere. We will have to bug the bookie joint to get the goods on those guys.
6. tv. to annoy someone. This kind of thing really bugs me.

bug nut

n. a wire nut; a twist-on wire connector used to connect the ends of wires to complete a circuit. Charlie, hand me a couple bug nuts, will ya? Hold them together, twist, and screw on the bug nut, See?
See also: bug, nut

Bug off!

exclam. Get out!; Go away! Bug off! Get out of here!
See also: bug

bug out

1. in. to pack up and retreat. (Military, Korean War.) Orders are to bug out by oh-nine-hundred.
2. in. to get out of somewhere fast. I gotta find a way to bug out of here without getting caught.
See also: bug, out

bug-fucker

1. n. a male with a small penis. (Rude and derogatory.) Tell the little bug-fucker he doesn’t get a discount, no matter what he’s got!
2. n. a small penis. (Usually objectionable.) Well, a bug-fucker is better than no fucker at all.
3. n. an insignificant and worthless male. (Rude and derogatory.) Listen to me, you stupid bug-fucker! Get your things and get outa here!

crank bugs

n. a drug-induced hallucination that insects are crawling under one’s skin. (Drugs.) There’s no such thing as crank bugs, so stop scratching them.
See also: bug, crank

put a bug in (someone's) ear

Informal
To impart useful information to (another) in a subtle, discreet way.
See also: bug, ear, put

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
LannyLAN-eeEnglish
Radoslavrah-dah-SLAHF (Russian)Czech, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Medieval Slavic
Lina (1)-Arabic
SawyerSOI-ər, SAW-yərEnglish (Modern)
GÜLnaz-Turkish
JosslynJAWS-linEnglish (Rare)