The phrase “My bad” gained widespread popularity in the mid-1990s, notably after its use in the 1995 film Clueless, but it’s believed to have originated from seven-foot-seven Manute Bol, a legendary NBA star and basketball player from Sudan. Bol was still mastering the English language, and after failing to block a shot taken by Michael Jordan, he walked to the bench in a daze, teammates laughing and asking “What happened?!” Bol uttered two words that his teammates had never heard, saying “My bad,” and the bench erupted in laughter, as if they’d heard the best joke of their lives. As it turns out, what he meant to say was “My fault.”
- The Atavist, Issue No. 6, 2011