Word Study
booby
CIDE DICTIONARY
booby, n. [Sp. bobo dunce, idiot; cf. L. balbus stammering, E. barbarous.].
- A dunce; a stupid fellow. [1913 Webster]
- A swimming bird (
Sula fiber orSula 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 , thered-footed booby ; andSula nebouxii , theblue-footed booby . [1913 Webster]
booby, a.
Having the characteristics of a booby; stupid. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
booby, n. (pl. -ies)
1 a stupid or childish person.
2 a small gannet of the genus Sula.
1 a stupid or childish person.
2 a small gannet of the genus Sula.
Idiom
booby-hatch esp. US sl. a mental hospital. booby prize a prize given to the least successful competitor in any contest. booby trap
1 a trap intended as a practical joke, e.g. an object placed on top of a door ajar.
2 Mil. an apparently harmless explosive device intended to kill or injure anyone touching it. booby-trap v.tr. place a booby trap or traps in or on.
1 a trap intended as a practical joke, e.g. an object placed on top of a door ajar.
2 Mil. an apparently harmless explosive device intended to kill or injure anyone touching it. booby-trap v.tr. place a booby trap or traps in or on.
Etymology
prob. f. Sp. bobo (in both senses) f. L balbus stammering
THESAURUS
booby
also-ran, asshole, bag, boob, boobs, bosom, breast, breasts, brisket, bust, chest, chump, crop, defeatee, ding-a-ling, dingbat, dingdong, dolt, dolthead, duck, dug, fall guy, fathead, galoot, game loser, good loser, good sport, goof, jerk, jerk-off, klutz, knockers, loser, mama, mamelon, mamelonation, mammary gland, mammilla, mammillation, mutt, nenes, nipple, oak, pap, papilla, pigeon breast, prize sap, sap, saphead, sawney, schlemiel, sport, stooge, teat, the vanquished, thorax, tit, tits, titties, titty, udder, underdog, victimROGET THESAURUS
booby
Fool
N fool, idiot, tomfool, wiseacre, simpleton, witling, dizzard, donkey, ass, ninny, ninnyhammer, chowderhead, chucklehead, dolt, booby, Tom Noddy, looby, hoddy-doddy, noddy, nonny, noodle, nizy, owl, goose, goosecap, imbecile, gaby, radoteur, nincompoop, badaud, zany, trifler, babbler, pretty fellow, natural, niais, child, baby, infant, innocent, milksop, sop, oaf, lout, loon, lown, dullard, doodle, calf, colt, buzzard, block, put, stick, stock, numps, tony, bull head, dunderhead, addlehead, blockhead, dullhead, loggerhead, jolthead, jolterhead, beetlehead, beetlebrain, grosshead, muttonhead, noodlehead, giddyhead, numbskull, thickskull, lackbrain, shallowbrain, dimwit, halfwit, lackwit, dunderpate, lunkhead sawney, gowk, clod, clod-hopper, clod-poll, clot-poll, clot-pate, bull calf, gawk, Gothamite, lummox, rube, men of Boeotia, wise men of Gotham, un sot a triple etage, sot, jobbernowl, changeling, mooncalf, gobemouche, dotard, driveler, old fogey, old woman, crock, crone, grandmother, cotquean, henhussy, incompetent (insanity), greenhorn, dunce, lubber, madman, one who will not set the Thames on fire, one who did not invent gunpowder, qui n'a pas invente' la poudre, no conjuror, fortuna favet fatuis, les fous font les festinas et les sages les mangen, nomina stultorum parietibus harrent, stultorum plena sunt omnia.For further exploring for "booby" in Webster Dictionary Online