Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Contemporary (2000–) ·2000
Bobo
bourgeois bohemian
- Meaning
- A member of the well-off, culturally progressive creative class.
- Source words
- bourgeois + bohemian
- Coined by
- David Brooks
- Year
- 2000
Background
Brooks's book *Bobos in Paradise* (2000) coined and popularised the term for US knowledge-economy professionals blending traditional bourgeois affluence with counterculture sensibilities. The word crossed easily into French press, where *bobo* is now entrenched.
Contemporary (2000–)
Faster coinage, faster canonisation. Brexit and podcast both reached the OED within a decade of first use — historically rapid. Social media has made visibility, not invention, the rate-limiting step.
Two words, one coinage.
Browse every portmanteau on the shelf — or cross over to the loanwords atlas.