grammaticality - Is "my bad" a correct English phrase?


I have seen many people use the phrase "my bad" in Internet forums. What does it exactly imply and is it a proper English phrase?



Answer



Yes, "my bad" is a proper English phrase. It is an apology; when you say "my bad", you're basically saying, "I admit a mistake" or "my fault, sorry for that". Wiktionary says:



(colloquial) (idiomatic) My fault; mea culpa.



  • Yes, I realize the humvee isn't supposed to be parked in the heirloom flowerbed. My bad.



It also links to this Language Log entry, which provides further insight:



The authoritative discussion of the phrase "my bad!" at this Random House site says it originates in pick-up basketball as a phrase used by young urban players when admitting to an error. It has spread to other domains and is now used widely to mean something like "I admit that I have made a mistake." It was nominated for "word of the year" (not that it's a word, it's clearly a phrase) in 1999, but in fact it was already at least twenty years old by then.



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