In the café where I had lunch today I saw a sign saying “Blue Sky tables are for sharing. Budge up and say Hi!” (see photo).
I thought budge up sounding like a very British kind of thing to say. Is it used in other English-speaking countries? If not, how would you ask someone to move up?
Budge comes from the French bouger (to move), from the Vulgar Latin *bullicāre, frequentative of Latin bullīre (to bubble, boil), from bulla (bubble; bubble-shaped object), from Gaulish, from Proto-Indo-European *beu (swelling) [source].
American here: We might say “bunch up” — but “budge up” sounds very weird to me. I’m not sure I’d understand it, even in context (unless I perceived it as a mispronunciation of “bunch up”).
Interesting, have always wondered which is the right English, between the America dictionary and the English version.
UK English speaker (Devon/South Wales)- never heard this expression either. Northern?
Just worked out what I usually hear: “shove up”.
Midwest American: Pull up a chair or Scoot in/up
Ah — that explains the Occitan ‘bolegar’!
“Something/somebody will not budge” meaning will not move (northeastern US)