I am reading "The Manticore" by Robertson Davies, and there is a teacher whose students nicknamed him Buggerlugs. His nickname was Old Buggerlugs, because he had a trick of jabbing his little finger into his ear and rooting with it, as if he were scratching his brain. The only remotely possible ethymology I found was "bugger - a person or thing considered to be contemptible, unpleasant, or difficult", and "to lug - to pull or carry with force or effort", and I fail to see any link between this and the explanation that the author gives. Could you please explain what Buggerlugs actually means?
Thanks in advance for your help.