Booby
['buːbɪ]
Definition
(noun.) small tropical gannet having a bright bill or bright feet or both.
Edited by Lilian--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A dunce; a stupid fellow.
(n.) A swimming bird (Sula fiber or S. 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. The name is also sometimes applied to other species of gannets; as, S. piscator, the red-footed booby.
(n.) A species of penguin of the antarctic seas.
(a.) Having the characteristics of a booby; stupid.
Typed by Geoffrey
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Simpleton, fool, DUNCE.[2]. (Ornith.) Gannet, noddy, solan goose (Sula bassana).
Typist: Nelly
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Idiot, dunce, numskull
ANT:Wiseacre, solon, oracle
Typed by Duane
Definition
n. a silly or stupid fellow: a sea-bird of the gannet tribe remarkable for its apparent stupidity in allowing itself to be knocked down with a stick.—adjs. Boo′by Boo′byish like a booby: stupid.—ns. Boo′byism; Boo′by-trap a rude form of practical joke among boys by which something is made to fall upon some one entering a door or the like.
Editor: Yvonne
Examples
- Hould your tongue, Mick, you booby. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Go and get a glass of Malmsey and a cake for my Lady Jane, Horrocks, you great big booby, and don't stand stearing there like a fat pig. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Touch him upon money, and you touch no booby then. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- He cannot write a note without orthographical errors; he reads only a sporting paper; he was the booby of Stilbro' grammar school! Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- How could I address myself to such a booby? Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- Was such an absolute Booby necessary to the purpose? Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
Checked by Judith