What does “boiata” mean in Italian slang?

When Italians dismiss a film, sequel or remake, the word is boiata: rubbish, trash, a botched job. “È una boiata clamorosa” — it’s a spectacular load of garbage. It’s colloquial but not vulgar, so it’s safe among friends. Comedy fans, sports fans and critics all reach for it, which makes it one of the most useful opinion words a learner can carry into a real conversation about culture.

Dictionaries mark it popolare (informal) and trace it to Milanese boià, related to abbaiare, “to bark” — fittingly, the noise of pointless fuss. Intensify it freely: una boiata pazzesca, una boiata tremenda. The adjective for the same idea is the milder una cosa fatta male, “a badly made thing.”