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Bunny Boiler is a pejorative term for an obsessive and dangerous individual, most commonly referring to a jilted lover who is stalking the person who has spurned her or him. The term is normally used for a woman. The phrase derives from the 1987 film Fatal Attraction, about a woman who begins stalking a man with whom she had a one-night stand.

Etymology

It was inspired by a scene in the 1987 film Fatal Attraction where a scorned woman (played by Glenn Close), seeking revenge on her ex-lover (played by Michael Douglas), places his beloved family pet in a pot of boiling water when he is away from the house. The scene concludes with the family returning to the house with the child in the garden searching for the rabbit and the wife taking the lid off a boiling-over pot to reveal the deceased pet.

Its first known appearance in print was on December 6, 1990, when the Dallas Morning News reported on a Ladies' Home Journal interview with Glenn Close and introduced it by referring to her erstwhile character as a "bunny-boiler." The phrase appeared in print with increasing frequency beginning in 1994.

Big Brother (reality television series)

The term has been used regularly in both mainstream media and everyday discourse [1] to describe particular contestants in different series of the UK version of Big Brother.

The first was Michelle Bass, from the fifth series, who was labelled a 'bunny boiler' for the way she acted towards fellow contestant Stuart.[2][3]

In the sixth series, Craig Coates attracted the label for the way he was perceived to act towards Anthony Hutton.[4][5][6] In the seventh series, Lisa Huo was labelled a 'bunny boiler' in response to her relationship with Pete Bennett.[7]

Germaine Greer was even given the title.[8]

Out side of the UK, in the Australian 2007 series, housemate "TJ" or "Teresa Jane" was given the nickname for her perceived behaviour towards on/off boyfriend Bodie.

In the ninth American season, housemate Natalie's treatment of housemate Matt resulted in her being labelled a bunny boiler. She threatened to nominate him if he didn't give her a massage and professed her love for him constantly, despite his rejections.

The new Big Brother housemate Sylvia from Big Brother 2008 has been branded a bunny boiler for smothering the new housemate Stuart.

Other uses

  • 'Bunny Boiler' is also the name of one of the characters on the UK Television show Balls of Steel, played by Thaila Zucchi.
  • The scene from the film Fatal Attraction where Glenn Close boils the bunny was parodied in the last episode of the second series of the UK television show Spaced.
  • In the South Park episode Chef Aid, Mr. Garrison finds Mr. Twig in a pot being boiled, in the same way as the bunny in Fatal Attraction. The act was done by the recently returned Mr. Hat.
  • In the Smallville season four episode "Pariah," Lois Lane says the police are interested in Alicia in a "bunny-boiler" sort of way.
  • The Only Fools & Horses Christmas special episode Fatal Extraction is a parody of the film, including a direct take-off of the bunny boiling scene. Instead of a rabbit, however, Del Boy discovers that Uncle Albert is 'boiling his pants again'.
  • In UK TV series Skins, season 2, the character Sketch is referred to as a "bunny boiler".
  • An episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, where Will has to deal with a controlling woman, says "I tell you man, if we owned a rabbit, the dude would be on the stove by now", referring to Fatal Attraction.
  • A 1988 issue of MAD Magazine had a Mort Drucker spoof of Fatal Attraction, showing a cartoonized Anne Archer shocked over a dead Bugs Bunny on the stove and a dog thinking "What's this dame (Glenn Close) got against rabbits? The first one she killed was during her pregnancy test!"
  • In Emily Giffin's novel "Something Borrowed[9]," Rachel tells Ethan about an argument she had with her lover Dex (who is engaged to her best friend Darcy), after she finds out Dex had sex with Darcy earlier in the day. Ethan responds, "Aah. The bunny-in-the-pot-routine."

See also

References

  1. ^ ITV.com - Forums
  2. ^ This article is unavailable - HighBeam Research
  3. ^ Big Brother's 'bunny boiler' evicted
  4. ^ Page not found - View London - London For Londoner's
  5. ^ Ant haunted by bunny-boiler Craig
  6. ^ People.co.uk - 'WATCH OUT ANT CRAIG'S A PSYCHO'
  7. ^ Big Brother - the official Big Brother UK website from Channel 4
  8. ^ spiked-culture | Column | TV UK, 10 February
  9. ^ Google Books: Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
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