Funny Words Starting with ‘B’
English, with its patchwork quilt of linguistic origins, is a fertile field for the funny, the bizarre, and the outright bewildering. Today, we’re burrowing into the ‘B’ section of the dictionary to bring you a bounteous banquet of ‘B’ words that will undoubtedly bestow a bout of belly laughs. Brace yourself for a bonanza of bizarrely beautiful ‘B’ words!
Table of Contents
Babble
To “babble” is to chatter idly or foolishly, making it the perfect descriptor for those moments when words spill out like a brook after a spring thaw—energetic, relentless, and often making little sense.
Example: After his third cup of coffee, Jim’s morning babble became an unstoppable force of office trivia.
Bafflegab
“Bafflegab” is a wonderful word that combines “baffle” and “gab” (talk), referring to confusing or generally unintelligible jargon. It’s the lingo of bureaucrats and legalese that makes you scratch your head in wonder.
Example: The contract was so full of bafflegab that even a lawyer would need an interpreter.
Balderdash
“Balderdash” is a splendidly old-fashioned word for nonsense. It conjures images of Victorian gentlemen spluttering in disbelief at the latest scandalous rumor.
Example: “Poppycock and balderdash!” exclaimed the professor when he heard the rumor that the earth was flat.
Bamboozle
To “bamboozle” someone is to fool or cheat them, but the word itself is so playful that it’s hard to take the deception too seriously.
Example: He bamboozled his friends into believing his tiny apartment was a luxurious penthouse via some clever camera angles.
Bandersnatch
A “bandersnatch” is a creature from Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking-Glass.” It’s a fine example of a word that’s as fun to say as it is to imagine the whimsical creature it represents.
Example: My cat, with her unpredictable mood swings, is something of a household bandersnatch.
Bazinga
Popularized by the TV show “The Big Bang Theory,” “bazinga” is an exclamation used to punctuate a prank or a zing. It’s the verbal equivalent of a magician’s “ta-da!”
Example: He switched the salt with sugar, and when his brother took a sip of his coffee, he jumped out and shouted, “Bazinga!”
Bedlam
“Bedlam” refers to a scene of uproar and confusion, originally named after an infamous mental hospital in London. It’s a go-to word for describing a chaotic situation with a hint of historical flair.
Example: The day the squirrels invaded the office, it was total bedlam.
Beelzebub
While “Beelzebub” is another name for the devil, the word has a humorous ring to it, likely because of its old-timey sound and the ease with which it can be rhymed and sung.
Example: He played his music so loud, you’d think Beelzebub himself was hosting a concert in his living room.
Befuddle
To “befuddle” is to confuse greatly, and the word itself feels like a mind in disarray—letters tumbling over each other, trying to make sense of things.
Example: The new tax laws would befuddle even the most astute accountant.
Besmirch
“Besmirch” means to damage the reputation of someone or something. It sounds like someone literally smearing dirt on a person’s character.
Example: The scandal would besmirch his reputation to the point where even his dog seemed to judge him.
Bibble
To “bibble” is to drink or eat noisily. It’s a word that somehow sounds both like the action it describes and like a lovable, albeit messy, character in a children’s book.
Example: Listening to him bibble his soup was an exercise in restraint, as each slurp echoed through the quiet cafeteria.
Bifurcate
“Bifurcate” means to divide into two branches or forks, but the word itself has a stiff, scientific air that can be amusing when applied to everyday life.
Example: My morning routine bifurcates into two possibilities: pre-coffee despair and post-coffee euphoria.
Blabbermouth
A “blabbermouth” is someone who talks too much, especially about things that should be kept private. It’s the kind of word that feels like it could be the name of a cartoon character, perhaps a talking fish with an inability to keep secrets.
Example: Danny, the office blabbermouth, spilled the beans about the surprise party.
Blunderbuss
Originating from the Dutch word “donderbus,” meaning “thunder gun,” a “blunderbuss” is an old-fashioned firearm with a short, wide barrel. Metaphorically, it can describe a person who is unsubtle or clumsy in action or speech, much like the scatter-shot nature of the weapon.
Example: He approached social situations like a blunderbuss, loud and likely to go off in unintended directions.
Brouhaha
“Brouhaha” is a word for an uproar or big event, and it’s as fun to experience as it is to pronounce. It’s the perfect term for a minor incident blown out of proportion, turning into a grand spectacle.
Example: The office cookie shortage led to a brouhaha that could be heard three blocks away.
Bumbershoot
An endearing and somewhat antiquated term for an umbrella, “bumbershoot” is a word that seems to open up and protect you from the rain of mundane language, much like the item it describes.
Example: With a tip of his bumbershoot, he greeted passersby, enjoying the puzzled smiles his old-timey word inspired.
Bumfuzzle
To “bumfuzzle” is to confuse or fluster, and it’s got that old-timey vibe that makes any sentence sound like it’s straight out of Mayberry.
Example: The new remote control was so complicated it would bumfuzzle even a tech whiz.
Bumpkin
A “bumpkin” is an unsophisticated or socially awkward person from the countryside. Often said with a mixture of endearment and exasperation, it’s a gentle jab at someone’s rustic innocence.
Example: He was a bit of a bumpkin when it came to city life, marveling at the “fancy” automatic doors.
Buncombe
“Buncombe” refers to speech-making that is insincere or foolish, originally deriving from a county in North Carolina whose representative was known for lengthy, pointless speeches. It’s now commonly spelled “bunkum.”
Example: The politician’s promises turned out to be nothing but buncombe, much to the surprise of absolutely no one.
Bungle
To “bungle” is to carry out a task clumsily or incompetently, leading to failure or an unsatisfactory outcome. It’s the kind of word that’s usually followed by a facepalm.
Example: He bungled his one job of bringing the drinks, and all we had to toast with was tap water.
Bupkis
“Bupkis,” which has Yiddish roots, means absolutely nothing, zilch, nada. It’s especially effective when you want to emphasize a lack of results with a bit of comedic flair.
Example: I searched all day for deals, and what did I find? Bupkis!
Burble
To “burble” is to make a continuous murmuring noise, but it’s also used to describe talking in an excited or idle manner. It’s the noise a brook makes, or perhaps a happy baby.
Example: He burbled on about his vacation, blissfully unaware that his audience had heard the story five times already.
Buttonholed
To be “buttonholed” is to be cornered and forced into a conversation, often by someone who is oblivious to your desperate attempts to escape. The word paints a picture of someone literally grabbing your buttonhole to keep you in place.
Example: I was buttonholed by my neighbor about her cat’s dietary habits for an hour.
Bygone
A “bygone” is something that is in the past, often used in the phrase “let bygones be bygones.” It’s a nostalgic word that carries a certain whimsy with it.
Example: At the family reunion, they decided to let bygones be bygones and focused on the more pressing issue: who ate the last piece of pie?
Final Thoughts
And there you have it—a bountiful, bewildering barrage of ‘B’ words to brighten your banter and befuddle your brain. May these bon mots be a boon to your vocabulary, bringing both beauty and belly laughs to your banter. Bask in the glory of the ‘B’, and remember: in the battle against boredom, the pen is mightier than the sword, but a well-placed ‘B’ word is mightier still.
