BOOBY • FREE-TRANSLATOR.COM • Definition of Booby

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/bˈubi/ Listen

noun

Booby n. (pl. boobies)

1.

A dunce; a stupid fellow.

2.

(Zool.)

(a)

A swimming bird (Sula fiber or Sula sula) related to the common gannet, and found in the West Indies, nesting on the bare rocks. It is so called on account of its apparent stupidity unafraid of men, it allows itself to be caught by a simple and undisguised approach. The name is also sometimes applied to other species of gannets; as, Sula piscator, the red-footed booby; and Sula nebouxii, the blue-footed booby.

(b)

A species of penguin of the antarctic seas.

Booby hatch

(a)

(Naut.), a kind of wooden hood over a hatch, readily removable.

(b)

, an insane asylum. (Colloq.)

Booby hut, a carriage body put upon sleigh runners. (Local, U. S.)

Booby hutch, a clumsy covered carriage or seat, used in the eastern part of England.

Booby prize, an award for the poorest performance in a competition; hence, metaphorically, the recognition of a strikingly inferior or incompetent performance.

Booby trap

(a)

, a schoolboy's practical joke, as a shower bath when a door is opened.

(b)

, any concealed device causing surprise or injury when a usually harmless object is touched; in military operations, typically containing an explosive charge.

adjective

Booby adj. Having the characteristics of a booby; stupid.

See images of 'Booby'

Etymology of 'Booby'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Booby" Quotes from Famous Books

... actor whom he had left in Stuttgart, possessed a similar weapon, the blade of which bore the syllables Biades. It seemed that Karl, even without the symbolic help of the daggers, had again found the complement of his own 'Alkibiadesian' individuality, this time in the young booby Hornstein, and it is very probable that the two, whilst in Sion, had imagined they were acting an 'Alkibiadesian' scene before Socrates. His comedy showed me that his artistic talent was fortunately far better than his society manners. To this day I regret that this decidedly ...

— My Life, Volume II • Richard Wagner

... that?" And in this manner he asked me of whoever was old or ugly in the room. I made no sort of answer: and when he found that I was resolutely silent, and walked on as much as I could without observing him, he suddenly stamped his foot, and cried out in a passion, "Fool! idiot! booby!" ...

— Evelina • Fanny Burney

... pity in Jennings' breast, so he ordered Dauss to the booby hatch for a spanking and sent Coveleski to ladle out the pitch stuff. The young southpaw was equally generous in intent and would surely have forced in enough runs to give the Sox the game, but two of the visitors absolutely refused to accept that kind of a gift and got out. They ...

— News Writing - The Gathering , Handling and Writing of News Stories • M. Lyle Spencer

... she'd been usin' bad wather down on the East African Coast, I'm thinkin', and it raised hell wit' her. 'Tis the expinse av retubin' her condensers that always frightened ould Webb, and whin he lost conthrol the blatherskite booby av a port ingineer the new owners app'inted come down to the ship, looked her over, wit' niver a question to me that knew the very sowl av her, and reported to the owners that what she needed was another b'iler." And Terence ...

— Cappy Ricks • Peter B. Kyne

... as a rule," said the horse—"very patient with people—don't make much fuss. But it was bad enough to have that vet giving me the wrong medicine. And when that red-faced booby started to monkey with me, I just couldn't bear ...

— The Story of Doctor Dolittle • Hugh Lofting

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