booby
part of speech
noun (a booby, boobies)
meaning for a pupil
1) A large tropical seabird with bright blue or red feet that dives into the sea to catch fish. tree →
2) (old-fashioned) A silly or stupid person. tree →
3) (rude, slang) a rude word for a part of the body; not for school. tree →
4) A booby trap: a hidden trap, often a hidden bomb, set off when someone touches something harmless-looking. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science and nature it is a seabird, like the blue-footed booby of the Galapagos. In stories and history "booby trap" means a hidden trap. The slang breast sense is rude and children may hear it as a giggle word. Phrases: "blue-footed booby", "booby trap", "booby prize" (a joke prize for coming last).
examples
- The blue-footed booby dances to show off its feet. tree →
- Boobies dive from high up to catch fish. tree →
- Don't open the box, it might be a booby trap! tree →
- The soldiers checked the road for booby traps. tree →
- I came last and won the booby prize, a wooden spoon. tree →
- (rude) The older boys giggled and said "boobies". tree →
note
Plural: boobies. The breast meaning is rude slang; do not use it at school. "Booby prize" is a joke prize for the worst result. The bird's name may come from a Spanish word for "fool", because it was easy to catch.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «booby» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.