What does bosie mean?
Bosie is a word with two distinct lives. In cricket, it is a synonym for the googly: a leg-break delivery bowled with what looks like an off-break action, so that it spins in the direction opposite to the one the batsman expects. The term honours Bernard Bosanquet, the early twentieth-century Middlesex and England bowler credited with inventing the delivery. Commentators and cricket writers use it when describing a spinner who deceives a batter through disguise rather than raw pace. Separately, in Scots usage a bosie is a warm hug or cuddle — a child might ask a parent for a bosie — making it a familiar word of affection north of the border. The two meanings share nothing but spelling, yet both carry warmth in their own way: one delights bowlers, the other comforts families.
In cricket, a googly: a leg-break delivery bowled with an off-break action, spinning away from the direction the batsman anticipates.
"Her final over included a beautifully flighted bosie that had the opener stumped."
Used almost exclusively in British cricket contexts; interchangeable with 'googly'.
In Scots, informal: a hug or cuddle.
"The wee lassie ran over and gave her dad a big bosie."
Colloquial and affectionate; heard mainly in Scotland.
Regular plural, used in both the cricket and Scots-hug senses.
"The spinner mixed in three bosies during his spell."
The bosie is named after Bernard Bosanquet, the Edwardian cricketer who invented the googly and bamboozled batters on both sides of the Atlantic.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bosie
The cricketing sense derives from the name of Bernard James Tindall Bosanquet (1877–1936), the English leg-spinner who pioneered the googly around the turn of the twentieth century; his surname was affectionately shortened to 'Bosie' by teammates and the press. The Scots sense meaning a hug is a separate formation, related to dialect words of endearment and likely influenced by words such as 'boose' or nursery forms; its precise origin is uncertain.
How bosie is actually used
The cricket sense appears chiefly in British sporting journalism and commentary, often interchangeably with 'googly'. The hug sense is distinctly Scots and colloquial, common in Scotland and parts of northern England.
Easily confused with bosie
A goosey relates to geese or describes someone easily startled, whereas a bosie is either a deceptive cricket delivery or, in Scots, a hug.