booby
pronunciation
How to pronounce booby in British English:
UK [ˈbu:bi]
How to pronounce booby in American English:
US ['bubɪ]
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- Noun:
- an ignorant or foolish person
- small tropical gannet having a bright bill or bright feet or both
Word Origin
- booby (n.)
- 1590s, from Spanish bobo "stupid person, slow bird" (used of various ungainly seabirds), probably from Latin balbus "stammering," from an imitative root (see barbarian). Booby prize is by 1883: an object of little value given to the loser of a game; booby trap is 1850, originally a schoolboy prank; the more lethal sense developed during World War I. At the end of every session the dominie had the satirical custom of presenting his tawse as a "booby-prize" to some idle or stupid lout whom he picked out as meriting this distinction so that next time they met he might start fresh and fair with new pair for a new set of classes. [Ascott R. Hope, "Dumps," "Young England" magazine, 1883]
Example
- 1. The car had been booby trapped by terrorists .
- 2. We 're doing a soft entry in case it 's booby trapped .
- 3. They searched the ground for booby traps .
- 4. We had to explore the terrain carefully lest booby traps go off all around us .
- 5. What about booby traps ?