What it means
A strong British way to say someone's behaviour is seriously out of line. Out of order already means unfair, rude, or not on. Add bang and it hits harder, like saying this wasn't just off, it was properly bang out. You use it when somebody's crossed a line and you're not letting it slide.
Usage examples
"He jumped the queue at the chippy then acted innocent. That’s bang out of order, mate, get to the back and stop being a melt."
"Taking the last seat from an old lady is bang out of order."
"He read my texts without asking, which is bang out of order if you ask me."
"Charging everyone for the takeaway then 'forgetting' to send my money back is bang out of order."
"Nah, mocking his accent in front of everyone was bang out of order. You can't dress it up as banter."
Where it comes from
It grows out of British out of order, which first meant a machine or system wasn't working, then shifted into everyday speech for behaviour that wasn't acceptable. Bang is a British intensifier in phrases like bang on, so bang out of order pushes the judgement up a notch and makes it sound proper sharp.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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