bloofer lady?

16 replies
Forums · General English Grammar & Vocabulary, Listening & Speaking · General English Vocabulary & Idiom Questions
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Hi there!

The expression 'bloofer lady' that appears in Dracula is often translated in different ways but does anybody know the original meaning of the word 'bloofer'. I've read the expression is an old idiom which means 'beautiful lady' but I'm asking the meaning of the word 'bloofer'.

Thanks
Could this just be baby talk for "beautiful"? I've never heard "bloofer" in my life, not that I've been around since the days of Merrie Olde England.
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You may want to write to the author of this page:

http://www.blooferland.com
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Hi!

The anonymous is me. I've visited the page but I haven't found out anything yet. Any other suggestions?
Full Member125
I'm now quite sure that it's meant to represent a little child's lisping pronunciation of "beautiful." Apparently this use was inspired by Charles Dickens, who did it first.
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DidoHi!

The anonymous is me. I've visited the page but I haven't found out anything yet. Any other suggestions?

Did you listen to my instructions and e-mailed that Elizabeth Miller lady listed on that page? Click on that link showing her name.
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When I was a little kid, I made some questionable grammatic errors. For example, when talking to my parents, instead of saying "I love you too." I'd say "Fluffy too." Yeah, goes to show how child slang can be a bit strange, but that's what "bloofer" is, child slang. For "beautiful," actually; sorry to say, there isn't any deeper gothic meaning to it.

The term "bloofer" also appears in Charles Dicken's novel Our Mutual Friend when refering to a beautiful women. Its in book 2, chapter 9 if you'd like to see the context.

I'm yet to outgrow my grammatic awkwardness as you can see, so excuse me for any mistakes.
It's not bloofer I don't think but "boofer" and is just a child's English accent pronunciation of "beautiful" - which the fictional reporter obviously seized on as a "hook" for the story and a sly way to denigrate the witnesses as members of the lower English class - the Cockney accent -- "flowers for the boofer lady, mista?"
Yes, it means "beautiful lady". They stated so inside the book.
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