[Ads-l] BOGO (when the second item is not free)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Apologies to Barry for not examining the very valuable entry that he
has about BOGO,

http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/bogo_or_bogof_buy_one_get_one_free/

A 1992 citation that Barry listed revealed that the meaning
encompassed a second item at half price.

[Begin excerpt]
11 November 1992, Florence (AL) TimesDaily, “Bargain hunters scout
stores for new deals” by Martin Sloane, pg. 1C, col. 2:
If you shop at the Farm Fresh supermarket in Virginia, you probably
know what a “BOGO” sale is.

If you live in Princeton, Ill., you may have shopped in a new grocery
store called BOGO’s. If you are a smart shopper who enjoys a bargain,
then you defnitiely look for BOGOs.

What is BOGO?

The letters literally stand for “buy one, get one.” What do you get?
Well, in many cases if you buy one product, you get a second for free.
Other times the second product is available at half price.
[End excerpt]

Garson


On Sun, May 31, 2015 at 12:34 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      BOGO (when the second item is not free)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> In April I saw the following sign at the entrance to a store in an
> outlet mall in northern Florida.
>
> [Begin excerpt of text on sign]
>
>          BOGO
> BUY ONE T-SHIRT
>  GET ONE 1/2 OFF
>        --- MB ---
>       SPORTS
> Officially Licensed
>
> [End excerpt]
>
> This sign did not accord with the definition provided on Wikipedia
> because the second item was not free.
>
> Bogo
> (disambiguation page on Wikipedia; viewed May 31, 2015)
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogo
> [Begin excerpt]
> BOGO or BOGOF, an initialism for buy one, get one free, a common form
> of sales promotion
> [End excerpt]
>
>
> Yet, the definition at the Urban Dictionary website allowed for the
> possibility of "some lesser value". Has the meaning shifted over time?
>
> BOGO: urbandictionary (viewed May 31, 2015)
> http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=BOGO
> [Begin excerpt]
> BOGO
> Buy One, Get One (free or some lesser value)
> that sale in produce, is it BOGO?
> by stu f. May 04, 2004
> [End excerpt]
>
>
> The Oxford English Dictionary has an entry for BOGOF but there is no
> entry for BOGO.
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> BOGOF, n.
>
> Etymology:  Acronym < the initial letters of the advertising slogan
> buy one get one free.
>
> 'Buy one get one free': a retail offer whereby a customer who
> purchases a particular item receives another such free of charge; an
> item obtained in this way.
>
> 1985   Progressive Grocer June 91   A recent buy-one, get-one-free
> (BOGOF) promotion.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
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