Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

bim, bem, bum

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.29 in modern English

Syllables
bim, be-m, bum
IPA
21
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

phrase

Retro art composition; composition stereotypical of the cover art of mid-20th-century science fiction pulp magazines.

Slang

Etymology

Clipping of bimbo + BEM (“Bug-Eyed Monster”) + bum (“incompetent man”). From a typical composition for the cover art of science fiction pulp magazines such as Thrilling Wonder Stories, notably by artists such as Earle K. Bergey and Rudolph Belarski, featuring a woman (the "Bim") being attacked or threatened by a monster (the "BEM"), while a man (the "Bum") protects her and/or attacks the monster.

Usage

Questions

What does bim, bem, bum mean?
Retro art composition; composition stereotypical of the cover art of mid-20th-century science fiction pulp magazines.
Where does bim, bem, bum come from?
Clipping of bimbo + BEM (“Bug-Eyed Monster”) + bum (“incompetent man”). From a typical composition for the cover art of science fiction pulp magazines such as Thrilling Wonder Stories, notably by artists such as Earle K. Bergey and Rudolph Belarski, featuring a woman (the "Bim") being attacked or threatened by a monster (the "BEM"), while a man (the "Bum") protects her and/or attacks the monster.

How to pronounce bim, bem, bum

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  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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