It is popularly reported that Hoyle, who favored an alternative "steady-state" cosmological model, intended this to be pejorative, but Hoyle explicitly denied this and said it was just a striking image meant to highlight the difference between the two models.: "To create a picture in the mind of the listener, Hoyle had likened the explosive theory of the universe's origin to a 'big bang'." Helge Kragh writes that the evidence for the claim that it was meant as a pejorative is "unconvincing", and mentions a number of indications that it was not a pejorative.
It is popularly reported that Hoyle who favored an alternative "steady-state" cosmological model intended this to be pejorative but Hoyle explicitly denied this and said it was just a striking image meant to highlight the difference between the two models "To create a picture in the mind of the listener Hoyle had likened the explosive theory of the universe's origin to a 'big bang'" Helge Kragh writes that the evidence for the claim that it was meant as a pejorative is "unconvincing" and mentions a number of indications that it was not a pejorative