I have been using "bad rap" when I feel someone has unfairly been accused of something. I see in Grammarist that it comes from "bum rap." Which, if either, do you use? Is "bum rap" more common?

Depends on who's making the noise. Oh - you didn't mean the annoying "music," did you?

"Bum rap" for false accusation; "bad rap" for lousy Christmas covering.

I suppose in the English-speaking world, "bum rap" refers to rhythmic discussion of someone's arse.

I am wondering if the British use this phrase.

Bum's rush, bum information, buma cigarette, on the bum..

Not really, unless we're consciously trying to use an Americanism.

Bum rap seems on older expression to me, say '50's or '60's, 'bum' meaning wrong/ incorrect, 'rap' meaning the consequences meted out, like a jail sentence. I've interpreted 'bad rap' as unearned gossip/ reputation, & assumed it was using 'rap' in the '70's & later connatation of 'talk'.

Bum

Word Origin and History for bum
n.
"buttocks," late 14c., "probably onomatopœic, to be compared with otherwords of similar sound and with the general sense of 'protuberance,swelling.' " [OED]
"dissolute loafer, tramp," 1864, American English, from bummer "loafer,idle person" (1855), probably from German slang bummler "loafer," frombummeln "go slowly, waste time." Bum first appears in a German-American context, and bummer was popular in the slang of the North'sarmy in the American Civil War (as many as 216,000 German immigrantsin the ranks). Bum's rush "forcible ejection" first recorded 1910.
1863, "to loaf and beg," American English, a word from the Civil War, perhaps a backformation from bummer "loafer," or from bum (n.).Meaning "to feel depressed" is from 1973, perhaps from bummer in the"bad experience" sense. Related: Bummed ; bumming.
adj.
"of poor quality," 1859, American English, from bum (n.). Bum steer infigurative sense of "bad advice" attested from 1901.]
1. a person who avoids work and lives off others.
2. Informal Terms Informal. a person who is very interested in something;
enthusiast:a ski bum; a beach bum.
3. Informal. an incompetent or worthless person:" Get another job, you bums,'' he yelled.

v.
4. Informal Terms Informal. to borrow (something) without a promise to return:[~ + object (+ off + object)]Can I bum a cigarette (off you)?
5. bum around, [no object][Informal.] to spend time or wander aimlessly:All vacation long we just bummed around.

adj. [before a noun][Slang.]
6. of poor or miserable quality;
worthless: a bum deal on that useless car.
7. False or misleading: A bum rap is when you are falsely accused of something.
8. lame: a bum leg.
Idioms
9. Idioms bum (someone) out, [~ + object + out][Slang.]to disappoint, upset, or annoy:That test really bummed me out.


bum2 /bʌm/ n. [countable] Brit. Slang.
1. British Terms the buttocks;
rump :falling on his bum.
1. a person who avoids work and sponges on others;
loafer; idler.
2. a tramp, hobo, or derelict.
3. [Informal.]an enthusiast of a specific sport or recreational activity, esp. one who gives it priority over work, family life, etc.:a ski bum; a tennis bum.
4. [Informal.]an incompetent person.
5. a drunken orgy; debauch.
6. on the bum, [Informal.]
 living or traveling as or in a manner suggesting that of a hobo or tramp.
 in a state of disrepair or disorder: The oven is on the bum again.

v.t.
7. [Informal.]to borrow without expectation of returning;
get for nothing; cadge: He's always bumming cigarettes from me.
8. [Slang.]to ruin or spoil: The weather bummed our whole weekend.

v.i.
9. to sponge on others for a living;
lead an idle or dissolute life.
10. to live as a hobo.
11. bum around, [Informal.]to travel, wander, or spend one's time aimlessly: We bummed around for a couple of hours after work.
12. bum (someone) out, [Slang.]to disappoint, upset, or annoy: It really bummed me out that she could have helped and didn't.

adj. Slang.
13. of poor, wretched, or miserable quality;
worthless.
14. disappointing;
unpleasant.
15. erroneous or ill-advised;
misleading:That tip on the stock market was a bum steer.
16. lame:a bum leg.
• 1860–65, American; perh. shortening of or back formation fromBUMMER1; adjective, adjectival senses of unclear relation to sense "loafer'' and perh. of distinct origin, originally
 2. vagabond, vagrant.

bum2 (bum), n. [Chiefly Brit. Slang.]
1. British Termsthe buttocks;
rump.
• 1350–1400; Middle English bom; of uncertain origin, originally

bum3 (bum), n. [Mil. Slang.]
1. Militarya reproduction of a document made with copying equipment.
2. Militarya bag into which classified waste is put in preparation for destruction.
• def. 2 presumably as shortening of bum bag perh. as shortening ofBUMF or bumfodder


Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

bum /bʌm/N
1. BRIT SLANG the buttocks or anus
Etymology: 14th Century: of uncertain origin
bum /bʌm/ INFORMALN
1. a disreputable loafer or idler
2. a tramp; hobo
VB (bums, bumming, bummed)
1. (transitive) to get by begging; cadge: to bum a lift
2. (intransitive) often followed by around: to live by begging or as a vagrant or loafer
3. (intransitive) usually followed by around: to spend time to no good purpose; loaf; idle
4. bum someone off ⇒ US CANADIAN SLANG to disappoint, annoy, or upset someone
ADJ
1. (prenominal) of poor quality; useless
Etymology: 19th Century: probably shortened from earlier bummer a loafer, probably from German bummeln to loaf


'bum' also found in these entries:
bad rap - bum bag - bum rap - bum's rush - bum-rush - bumbailiff -bumble - bumblebee - bumbleheaded - bumbling - bumf -bumfuzzled - bummer - derelict - drunk - pigs - steer - stewbum -stumblebum - tramp


Forum discussions with the word(s) "bum" in the title:
...to bum (burn) at the stake
a bum rap
a pinch on the bum
beach bum
belly bag, belt pack, bum bag, Buffalo pouch, hip pack.....
Bom/ homeless / bum
Bum / Butt / Buttocks / Bottom
Bum around
bum cheek
bum education
bum off me (scrounged a wedge off me)
bum out
bum steer
bum-trucking
bum(worthless)
Burn a smoke? [bum a smoke]
give him the bum's rush
go up your bum
Hey, can I bum a smoke off you?
"It's bone" ? "It's bum" ?
lame, bum
making a bum out of me
Pigeon- Could be use instead of bum
she might bum
spoon sled / bum sled?
stew bum
surf-bum
the meaning of "bim bum"
up her own bum
Vagrant/vagabond/hobo/bum/tramp
more...

Wow, whole lotta research, proof!
I was surprised they described beach bum & ski bum as enthusiasts [only].

I'd always thought using the word bum there implied that's all they did, to the exclusion of 'honest work' (w/ the implication they were living off dad's $). I believe I've also heard of tennis bums. You don't hear of bowling bums.

quote:

hear of bowling bums.

I hope not. I was one for a while.

Mixing the Brit slang 'bum' into the thread w/US ski (etc) bums is causing some cartoonish mixed metaphors to float through my addled brain!

That's the part I fall on when I try to ski! I used to love X-C skiing, but after getting my brains knocked out my balance went with it.

There's a book by Hugh Rawson titled Devious Derivations. I seem to have lost my copy but I recall he told the entymology og bum-bailiff.The Victorians didn't like the term, since it offended their sensibilities, and insisted it was a shortening of bound-bailiff. However no one was ever able to find a cite for that. It apparently came from bailiffs who chased down miscreants and seized them by the seat of the pants. Over here it's a practice perfected by The Donald, who prefers the front as a variation.

quote:

probably from German slang bummler "loafer,"

The title of Jerome K Jerome's sequel to Three men in a boat, Three men on the Bummel, amused me at first because it was close to the British use of bum.