Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(S.Afr.) a general expletive, the local pron. of the UK bloody adj.; also as adv.

1920		R.Y. Stormberg Mrs Pieter de Bruyn 10: His oral whip-lashing of indolent servants is sometimes over heard. What’s the meaning of ‘blirry dumkop’? [DSAE].
1949		H.C. Bosman Cold Stone Jug (1981) II 30: When I is blue like what I is now, then I says you can maar keep me locked up in the old boob as long as you blerrie well like.
1959		A. Delius Last Division 76: Masters never saw such a blerry mix-up. / It was like the annual Moffies’ dance.
1962		A. La Guma Walk in the Night (1968) 6: He ain’t like you blerry gangsters.
1963		R. Rive ‘Rain’ in Malan (1994) 10: ‘Ag, Solly.’ ‘Don’ ag me. You coloured people can never shut blarry doors’. [Ibid.] 11: I know it’s blarrywell raining.
1964		G. Gordon Four People 116: ‘Blerrie fool!’ Gus exploded.
1972		‘Rawbone Malong’ Ah Big Yaws? 14: Blerri, Blarri, Blatty, Bletty. The usual variants on what used to be ‘By Our lady’ [...] ‘Weather blerrielle hiv ubin?’.
1973		Y. Burgess A Life to Live (2002) 53: Stew, stew, stew. [...] Everyday it’s blarry stew. [Ibid.] 54: You can blarry get out if you don’t like it, you got a blarry cheek, that’s what you got, you pay me next to sweet blarry buggerall and what do you want? Blarry chicken every day?
1975		S. Roberts ‘Cleft Stick’ Outside Life’s Feast 85: There was a bliksemse lawaai coming from the bathroom [...] they were struggling with a razor and the woman’s wrists were bleeding but she was fighting like a blarry mad thing.
1976		R.M. Kavanagh Survival in Kavanagh S. Afr. People’s Plays (1981) 156: Like a hers of blerry camels, man.
1977		P.-D. Uys Paradise is Closing Down in Gray Theatre One (1978) 149: I’ll make her so blerrie bang they’ll bugger off before you can say ‘Soweto’!
1983		(con. 1944) G. Butler Bursting World 221: ‘Papa’ Brits was not used to being interrupted [...] least of all by orders in incomprehensible German. ‘Jerry,’ he exclaimed testily, ‘get off my blerry air’ [radio wavelength].
1985		B. Simon ‘Outers’ Born in the RSA (1997) 40: I can’t sit in the blerry rain.
1990		J. Naidoo Coolie Location 153: She’s a really civilized chick. You know, no fuckings, no blerrys, no voetseks, no bliksems, no hey jongs, no pas ops – none of that shit comes out of her mouth.
1995		I. Mahomed Cheaper Than Roses in Perkins (1998) 57: Blerrie Coloureds. Give them freedom and that’s what they do. Shit all over the place. Shit here. Shit there [...] but they won’t shit in the blerrie toilets.
2000		A. Brink Rights of Desire (2001) 70: Those blerry good-for-nothings?
2006		C. Miller Salt and Honey 62: Pa! It was Pa who’d aimed at the Bushman. Blerrydronkieboozingbastard. What would Ma say? [Ibid.] 66: How the blerryhell do you think you’re going to get me back without a team to pull this focken cart?
2006		M. Orford Like Clockwork 205: It’s blerrie freezing outside.
2009		Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) 10 Sept. 🌐 You, my friend, are one blerrie funny Durbanite!
2012		Cape Argus IOL 30 Mar. 🌐 He is famous for calling a spade a ‘blerrie’ shovel.