boobies

Booby \Boo"by\ (b[=oo]"b[y^]), n.; pl. {Boobies} (-b[i^]z). [Sp.
   bobo dunce, idiot; cf. L. balbus stammering, E. barbarous.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. A dunce; a stupid fellow.
      [1913 Webster]

   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.
          [1913 Webster]

   {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.] --Bartlett.

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

   {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.
          [1913 Webster +PJC]