boogalee

boogalee n, also attrib, adj |ˌbᴜgəˈli, ˈbu–| Also boog Also sp boogalie, boogerlee, bougalee, bougalie, bugalee [Etym unknown] chiefly sLA freq derog Cf coonass n

A Cajun n1 1; characterized by Cajuns.

1934 Internatl. Bookbinder 35.164 LA,Those in authority in this neck of the woods have only the interest of friends and political henchmen at heart. The transients, negroes and the Boogalees all flock here for this Crescent City is the haven for all idle and lazy drifters. 1934 U.S. Congress Senate Senatorial Campaign Expenditures 2.1686 New Orleans LA, Senator Connally. How do those two precincts compare? Mr. Leslie. The fourth precinct is bougalie. Senator Connally. What do you mean, bougalie? Mr. Leslie. Stump jumpers that come from the country to take the city boys’ jobs. 1944 Harper’s Mag. 188.136 sLA,Years ago there was a cheap resort town there, a place of bathhouses, fishing camps, and dancing pavilions, where the New Orleans Italians and Irish and boogalie French had gone to hold their picnics and fish frys. 1953 (1954) Demarest Fabulous 108 New Orleans LA, Desperately he wished he could . . join them in their pursuit of the respectable to pelt with offal and insult with rhymes and shouts like “Kiskadee!” and “Bougalee Bastid!” 1966–68 DARE (Qu. HH28) Inf FL4, [ˈbᴜgəli]—from New Orleans, dark skinned; LA23, “Cajun” is a person of French descent in south Louisiana, called coon-ass and boogalee [ˌbᴜgəˈli]; LA40, French mixed with negroes are called boogalees [ˈbᴜgəliz]; LA46, Cajun—[ˈbugəˌliz], also [bᴜgz]. 1968 DARE FW Addit New Orleans LA, Boogerlee—same as Frenchman. Another person in town spelled it “boogalee.” Common. 1983 Reinecke Coll. New Orleans LA, Bougalee [ˈbugəˌli]— . . Contemptuous or taunting name for a lower-class Cajun. Probably related to “bougre.” Now largely supplanted by “coon-ass” which is also controversial. 1996 in 2016 DARE File—InternetNew Orleans LA, When I grew up in New Orleans (1960’s), I knew plenty of people with Cajun names. . . These transplanted Cajuns and their descendants were called “boogalee” while the actual Cajuns were known to be different. The boogalees w[e]re financially better off, and routinely took their boats to the same waters they fished in as children, but the next generation spoke no Cajun, and were only visiting the Cajun country when they visited. Ibid, Boogalee. . . People born in the 20’s tell me that they knew the word during the depression. I have always assumed that it is related to the Indian word ‘Bogue’. 2016 DARE File—Internet csLA, I am certain he didn’t lie as none of these bugalees lie (‘Bugalee’ what a coonass calls his best buddy who just pissed him off); But, they do have great imaginations, and enjoy embellishing the facts.