释义 |
▪ I. boo, n.3 U.S. slang (orig. in African-American usage). Brit. |buː|, U.S. |bu| [Origin uncertain; perhaps an alteration of beau n.] Esp among teenagers: a girlfriend or boyfriend. Also as a form of address.
1988Washington Post 22 Dec. d5/2 Lionel R. Harris is my boyfriend. Lewis shot my Boo and it was not self-defense. 1994T. Woods True to Game xvii. 195 Qua, please, please..baby, don't leave me. Don't leave me now! Boo, talk to me! 1998Time Out N.Y. 2 July 113/3 Reenacted phone conversations that find Miss Jones dishing stridently to a girlfriend about her man's imagined infidelities, as well as an actual conversation with her boo. 2004T. N. Baker Sheisty 12 But, datz still my boo, and shhhit, ya'll know what dey say, ‘Love is blinda than a muthafucka.’ ▪ II. boo, booh, int. (and n.1)|buː| A sound imitating the lowing of oxen; also used to express contempt, disapprobation, aversion. Used subst. as a name for itself, esp. as the sound of hooting. Cf. bo, boohoo.
1801R. Gill in Chambers Hum. Sc. Poems (1862) 176 He heard a boo ahint a hedge. 1855Thackeray Rose & Ring viii. (1866) 48 He..fell asleep and snored horridly. Booh, the nasty pig! 1884Chr. World 25 Sept. 717/1 The sibilant hiss and the contemptuous ‘boo’. 1885Pall Mall G. 6 Oct. 2/1 When the names of the agents..came out, you should have heard the roar of savage ‘boos’.
▸ In senses equivalent to bo int. (which boo has now largely replaced). 1. a. to say boo to a goose: (in negative constructions implying timidity) to speak up; to stand up for oneself; = to say ‘bo’ to a goose at bo int. b.
1639J. Taylor Iuniper Lect. 34 Thou are not able at any time to say boo to a Goose. 1742J. Hervey New C—t Ballad 3 Those Who we know never dare to say Boo to a Goose. 1780F. Pilon Humours of Election i. 1 He can't say boo! to a goose. 1840F. W. Thomas Howard Pinckney II. 159, I had a great mind to come down here..with a cowhide, and flake him 'til he couldn't say boo to a goose. 1873Chicago Daily Tribune 23 Feb. 6/6 A stranger..would at once place him in that category of temporizing souls who are supposed incapable of saying boo to a goose. 1932A. J. Worrall Eng. Idioms 12 That girl is a rabbit. She's afraid to say ‘Boo’ to a goose. 1981M. Gallant Ice Wagon going down Street in M. Atwood & R. Weaver Oxf. Bk. Canad. Short Stories (1986) 121 The impudence of gesture you find in women who wouldn't say boo to a goose. 2005E. Barr Plan B (2006) xxiv. 251 Some mumsy little woman who wouldn't say boo to a goose. b. to say boo to——: (chiefly in negative constructions) to speak to——; to challenge or stand up to——. Now also to say boo: to stand up for oneself; to speak up or make a fuss.
1774D. Garrick Christmas Tale i. i. 3 Here she comes again, and I can't say boo! to her for the life of me. 1845S. Smith May-day in N.Y. i. 35 She got up and went out..and never said boo to one of us. 1883I. M. R. Mayne Jrnl. 16 Feb. in Maud (1939) 167 We had to waltz once around the room together and I didn't so much as say boo to him. 1964R. Gover Here goes Kitten 40 Before he had a chance t'say boo t'that, I quick hit him with this—I say, Nother thing, didn't I see you slippin that bartender a five? 1989O. S. Card Prentice Alvin xiii. 155 Everybody said he was henpecked, and this was about all the proof a body'd need, to have his wife accuse him of hankering after adultery and him not hit her or even say boo. 2000Daily Tel. 22 June 35/1 We should try to encourage them when they pluck up the courage to say boo to the mighty Financial Services Authority. 2006Washington Post 24 Jan. e4/1 His one-time harshest critic..has not said boo. 2. Used as an abrupt exclamation intended to surprise or frighten; = bo int. a.
1718G. Crokatt Sc. Presbyterian Eloquence iii. 111 Boo is a word used in the North of Scotland to frighten crying Children. a1734R. North Examen (1740) iii. 133 He should catch up the Vizor, and, clapping it on his own Phiz, cry Boo, to fright neither Men nor Children. 1848W. T. Thompson Major Jones's Sketches xvii. 149 Fust he looked into my curtains. ‘Boo!’ ses I, and the little man's head disappeared like a shot. 1922P. G. Wodehouse Clicking of Cuthbert viii. 192 Do shout ‘Boo!’ at him when he is starting his down-swing! 1992D. Parry & P. Withrow Jacamar Nest xxvi. 203 A small boy was coming at you tippytoe from your blind side, getting ready to say ‘Boo.’
▸ boo bird n. N. Amer. (orig. Sport) a person who habitually jeers or finds fault; cf. boo-boy n. at Additions.
1971N.Y. Times 27 Sept. 46/1 The Philadelphia *boo birds are alive and well. These rabid fans have merely been relocated. 1997Time 2 June 71/2 Still, that hasn't stopped the Hollywood boo birds. She has been criticized for everything.
▸ boo-boy n. Sport (orig. Boxing now esp. Association Football) (chiefly Brit.), a spectator or supporter who habitually jeers or finds fault; esp. (in pl.) a section of a particular team's support which behaves in this manner.
1966Times 17 Sept. 4/6 The Board also announced yesterday that..from October 1 the scoring of referees will be publicly announced after all contests in this country that go the full distance. The ‘*boo boys’ will be practising deep breathing for the next few weeks! 1990Sun 20 Oct. 31/3 Leeds boss Howard Wilkinson last night backed goal-starved striker Lee Chapman to beat the boo-boys. 2002Liverpool Echo (Nexis) 2 Nov. 37 A prime target for the Tottenham boo-boys who have not forgotten his spell at Arsenal. ▪ III. boo, n.2 slang (orig. U.S.).|buː| [Origin uncertain.] = marijuana.
[1959J. E. Schmidt Narcotics Lingo & Lore 19 Bo-bo jockey, a capnophilist who smokes marijuana cigarettes. Noted in 1947.] 1959Esquire Nov. 70H Boo, marijuana. Also, Gage, Greens, Head, [etc.]. 1965Harper's Mag. Aug. 49/2 The story, sounding as if it originated with somebody full of Mexican boo smoke, came to prominence in The Independent American. 1967[see Mary Jane 2]. 1975New Yorker 26 May 33/2 The old Portagee is cheerful, healthy as a pippin apple,..smokes a little boo, has a whole string of foxy chicks who keep him up most of the night. 1979High Times Mar. 18/2 There was ‘boo’—very popular in late-'50s/early-hipster New York City. Why boo? From ‘taboo’, perhaps. 1985Playboy XXXII. 119/2 Where's the fun in..inhaling carbon-monoxide fumes, when you could be toking refreshing essence of boo smoke. ▪ IV. boo, v.|buː| [f. prec.] 1. intr. a. To low as a cow; to make a similar noise. b. To utter ‘boo!’; to hoot. Hence ˈbooing ppl. a. and vbl. n.
1816‘Quiz’ Grand Master vii. 188 At the Presidency, Some people boo with complaisancy. 1852Q. Rev. Dec. 212 The poor neighbours..were wont to exclaim, ‘There he [Wordsworth] is; we are glad to hear him booing about again’. 1882Jefferies Bevis II. 77 The booing of distant cows. 1884Rept. Ld. Salisbury's Sp. in Times 23 July 10/1 ‘We have been informed by Mr. Gladstone’ (Great booing and cheering). 1884Gd. Words May 324/2 A voice booing and hulloing. 2. trans. To assail with cries of ‘boo!’ as an expression of dissatisfaction or disapproval; to condemn by booing. Hence ˈbooer.
1893Daily News 27 Jan. 5/1 It was not a booing that booed the piece to immediate perdition. 1904Daily Chron. 19 Nov. 4/6 The ‘booer’, she argues, does not make himself heard at the opening of all new hotels, banks, and public buildings. What indeed would be thought of the man who ‘booed’ his dinner at the Carlton because his appetite failed? 1923Daily Mail 28 Sept. 6/3 Then..the booer will learn to give vent to his feelings in a more civilised way. 1955Times 4 Aug. 10/4 Some of the audience booed the performance on the first night. 1967Listener 12 Jan. 45/2 François Mauriac..tried to boo the singer off the stage. ▪ V. boo variant form of bo a. Obs. both. |