Meaning: To annoy or bother someoneContext #1 – Two students are talking after class
Jackie: You know that girl in the red shirt who sits in back of the class?
Pippy: Hmmm…let me think. Oh, yes! The really tall girl.
Jackie: Yes, that one! She bugs me so much!
Pippy: Really? Why?
Jackie: She just taps her pen on the table all through class. It’s a constant “tap, tap, tap.” I can’t stand it! I just want to tell her, “Stop bugging everyone with your constant tapping!”
Pippy: Calm down, Jackie! First of all, I think you are the only one who can hear the tapping because you sit right in front of her. Second, if you don’t like the constant tapping, just change where you sit in class.
Jackie: I guess you’re right. It still bugs me though. How rude!
Context #2 – Two students are walking in the hallway after English class
Simone: Oh my gosh! Let’s walk the other way. That guy always bugs me after class.
Pete: What’s going on? What guy?
Simone: The guy from our English class. He keeps trying to talk to me and ask me to go out with him. I don’t want to go. He’s nice, but not my type.
Pete: Just turn around and tell him, “Don’t bug me anymore!”
Simone: Ha, ha. You know I can’t be that rude. Even though I don’t want to talk to him, he seems like a nice person. I don’t want to hurt his feelings.
Pete: Well, I guess you had better get used to people bugging you!
Meaning: “To bug someone” means to bother or annoy someone. In context 1, the girl in class who always taps her pen on the desk really bothers Jackie. In context 2, the guy who keeps trying to talk to Simone really bothers her.
Check out this video. Does it bug you?
