boyo

Etymology

From boy + -o.

noun

1. (Ireland) A boy or lad.
2. (sometimes derogatory) A stereotypically Welsh form of address for a man, usually younger than the speaker.
   “Can’t get onboard the boat,” Dai finished for me. “Bloody typical, it is, boyo.” 1980, Tristan Jones, “Down the Old Kent Road”, in Adrift, Sheridan House, Inc, published 1992, page 73
   ‘This, er, initiator of polonium and lithium, would it be used in an anti-personnel bomb?’ he asked. ‘Oh yes, you could say so, boyo,’ replied the Welshman. 1984, Frederick Forsyth, The Fourth Protocol, London: Hutchinson, page 301
   A taff is a Welshman. Everyone in the doctors’ mess calls me taff or taffy. Mr Swain, the mortuary attendant, calls me boyo, especially during the rugby season when Wales lose badly. 1995, Peter Ho Davies, “The Ugliest House in the World”, in The Ugliest House in the World: Stories, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, published 2003, page 4
   “You’re crazy boyo!” Taffy gaped at his shipmate’s rosy cheeks, their hugh brightened by the Canadian blasts. “Now, what in the bloody hell were you doing out there boyo?” 2006, Francis Kerr Young, Hang on a Second!, Lulu.com, page 210