boobn.1adj.
/buːb/, U.S. /bub/ A. n.1
1. colloquial.
a. Originally and chiefly U.S. A stupid, inept, or blundering person; a fool. Cf. booby n.1 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > stupid person, dolt, blockhead > [noun]
asseOE
sotc1000
beastc1225
long-ear?a1300
stock1303
buzzard1377
mis-feelinga1382
dasarta1400
stonea1400
dasiberd14..
dottlec1400
doddypoll1401
dastardc1440
dotterel1440
dullardc1440
wantwit1449
jobardc1475
nollc1475
assheada1500
mulea1500
dull-pate15..
peak1509
dulbert?a1513
doddy-patec1525
noddypolla1529
hammer-head1532
dull-head?1534
capon1542
dolt1543
blockhead1549
cod's head1549
mome1550
grout-head1551
gander1553
skit-brains?1553
blocka1556
calfa1556
tomfool1565
dunce1567
druggard1569
cobble1570
dummel1570
Essex calf1573
jolthead1573
hardhead1576
beetle-head1577
dor-head1577
groutnoll1578
grosshead1580
thickskin1582
noddyship?1589
jobbernowl1592
beetle-brain1593
Dorbel1593
oatmeal-groat1594
loggerhead1595
block-pate1598
cittern-head1598
noddypoop1598
dorbellist1599
numps1599
dor1601
stump1602
ram-head1605
look-like-a-goose1606
ruff1606
clod1607
turf1607
asinego1609
clot-poll1609
doddiea1611
druggle1611
duncecomb1612
ox-head1613
clod-polla1616
dulman1615
jolterhead1620
bullhead1624
dunderwhelpa1625
dunderhead1630
macaroona1631
clod-patea1635
clota1637
dildo1638
clot-pate1640
stupid1640
clod-head1644
stub1644
simpletonian1652
bottle-head1654
Bœotiana1657
vappe1657
lackwit1668
cudden1673
plant-animal1673
dolt-head1679
cabbage head1682
put1688
a piece of wood1691
ouphe1694
dunderpate1697
numbskull1697
leather-head1699
nocky1699
Tom Cony1699
mopus1700
bluff-head1703
clod skull1707
dunny1709
dowf1722
stupe1722
gamphrel1729
gobbin?1746
duncehead1749
half-wit1755
thick-skull1755
jackass1756
woollen-head1756
numbhead1757
beef-head1775
granny1776
stupid-head1792
stunpolla1794
timber-head1794
wether heada1796
dummy1796
noghead1800
staumrel1802
muttonhead1803
num1807
dummkopf1809
tumphya1813
cod's head and shoulders1820
stoopid1823
thick-head1824
gype1825
stob1825
stookiea1828
woodenhead1831
ning-nong1832
log-head1834
fat-head1835
dunderheadism1836
turnip1837
mudhead1838
donkey1840
stupex1843
cabbage1844
morepork1845
lubber-head1847
slowpoke1847
stupiditarian1850
pudding-head1851
cod's head and shoulders1852
putty head1853
moke1855
mullet-head1855
pothead1855
mug1857
thick1857
boodle1862
meathead1863
missing link1863
half-baked1866
lunk1867
turnip-head1869
rummy1872
pumpkin-head1876
tattie1879
chump1883
dully1883
cretin1884
lunkhead1884
mopstick1886
dumbhead1887
peanut head1891
pie-face1891
doughbakea1895
butt-head1896
pinhead1896
cheesehead1900
nyamps1900
box head1902
bonehead1903
chickenhead1903
thickwit1904
cluck1906
boob1907
John1908
mooch1910
nitwit1910
dikkop1913
goop1914
goofus1916
rumdum1916
bone dome1917
moron1917
oik1917
jabroni1919
dumb-bell1920
knob1920
goon1921
dimwit1922
ivory dome1923
stone jug1923
dingleberry1924
gimp1924
bird brain1926
jughead1926
cloth-head1927
dumb1928
gazook1928
mouldwarp1928
ding-dong1929
stupido1929
mook1930
sparrow-brain1930
knobhead1931
dip1932
drip1932
epsilon1932
bohunkus1933
Nimrod1933
dumbass1934
zombie1936
pea-brain1938
knot-head1940
schlump1941
jarhead1942
Joe Soap1943
knuckle-head1944
nong1944
lame-brain1945
gobshite1946
rock-head1947
potato head1948
jerko1949
turkey1951
momo1953
poop-head1955
a right one1958
bam1959
nong-nong1959
dickhead1960
dumbo1960
Herbert1960
lamer1961
bampot1962
dipshit1963
bamstick1965
doofus1965
dick1966
pillock1967
zipperhead1967
dipstick1968
thickie1968
poephol1969
yo-yo1970
doof1971
cockhead1972
nully1973
thicko1976
wazzock1976
motorhead1979
mouth-breather1979
no-brainer1979
jerkwad1980
woodentop1981
dickwad1983
dough ball1983
dickweed1984
bawheid1985
numpty1985
jerkweed1988
dick-sucker1989
knob-end1989
Muppet1989
dingus1997
dicksack1999
eight ball-
1907 Washington Post 27 Jan. 3/3 ‘You mean Hector?’ he said. ‘I can lick that boob in a punch.’
1930 G. B. Shaw Apple Cart i. 26 You gave it away, like the boobs you are, to the Pentland Forth Syndicate.
1961 Guardian 2 Nov. 7/6 Mr Melvin Lasky, though certainly no boob..has made a booboo.
2009 N. Cave Death Bunny Munro (2010) xii. 105 We are going to relieve a few boobs of their cabbage.
b. Originally U.S. A foolish mistake or blunder; frequently in to make a boob.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > an error, mistake > [noun] > serious error, blunder > foolish
boo-boo1950
boob1959
1959 ‘O. Mills’ Stairway to Murder xvi. 167 Boob Number Two... The prison service isn't quite like the Army, Colonel Clive.
1964 Economist 18 Jan. 187/1 If they have made a boob of course they are not going to admit it.
1966 P. Moloney Plea for Mersey 55 Newspapers have I read in every town And many a boob and misprint have I seen.
2014 Daily Mirror (Nexis) 21 May 6 Thankfully, Charles didn't make a boob and say something silly like his dad.
2. slang (chiefly U.S. and Australian). A cell, a lock-up; a prison; also without article, chiefly in in boob. Cf. booby n.1 5.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] > cell
houseOE
cabinc1522
hole1535
lodging1612
hold1717
cell1728
lock-up room1775
glory-hole1825
box1834
drum1846
sweat-box1870
booby-hutch1889
Peter1890
booby1899
boob1908
flowery dell1925
slot1947
1908 J. M. Sullivan Criminal Slang 4 Boob, the lockup, station house, or city prison.
1911 G. Bronson-Howard Enemy to Society v. 159 Stooling for the coppers and swearing many a right guy into the boob.
1923 E. Wallace Missing Million xiii. 108 I thought you were in ‘boob’.
1941 Coast to Coast 232 Seeing Don get chucked out of the Ballarat and carted off to the boob.
2000 J. J. Connolly Layer Cake (2004) 24 About a year after coming out of the boob having done his five and a bit he was approached by the owners.
B. adj. (attributive). U.S. colloquial (now rare).
Idiotic, stupid, inane.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > foolishness, folly > [adjective]
dizzyc825
unwisec825
redelessOE
unwittyc1000
daftlikec1175
witlessc1175
canga1225
adoted?c1225
cangun?c1225
egedec1225
cangeda1250
foola1250
snepea1250
aerwittec1275
sotlyc1275
unslyc1275
unwitterc1275
unwilya1300
nicec1300
goosishc1374
unskilfulc1374
follyc1380
lewdc1380
mis-feelinga1382
dottlec1390
foltedc1390
peevishc1400
fona1425
fonnishc1425
foliousa1450
foolisha1450
daft?c1450
doitedc1450
dotyc1450
daffish1470
insapientc1470
gucked?a1500
wanwittya1500
furious1526
insipient1528
seelya1529
dawish?1529
foolage1545
momish1546
base-wittedc1547
stultitiousa1549
follifulc1550
senseless1565
mopish1568
fondish1579
unsensiblea1586
fondly1587
dizzardly1594
follial1596
featlessc1598
fopperly1599
gowkeda1605
inept1604
simple1604
anserine1607
foppish1608
silly ass1608
unsage1608
wisdomless1608
fool-beggeda1616
Gotham1621
noddy1645
badot1653
dosser-headed1655
infrunite1657
nonsensicalc1661
slight1663
sappy1670
datelessa1686
noddy-peaked1694
nizy1709
dottled1772
gypit1804
shay-brained1806
folly-stricken1807
fool-like1811
goosy1811
spoony1813
niddle-noddle1821
gumptionless1823
daftish1825
anserous1826
as crazy as a loon1830
spoonish1833
cheese-headed1836
dotty1860
fool-fool1868
noodly1870
dilly1873
gormless1883
daffy1884
monkey-doodle1886
mosy1887
jay1891
pithecanthropic1897
peanut-headed1906
dinlo1907
boob1911
goofy1921
ding-a-ling1935
jerky1944
jerk1947
jerkish1948
pointy-headed1950
doofus1967
twitty1967
twittish1969
nerkish1975
numpty1992
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > weakness of intellect > [adjective] > idiotic
fonda1400
idiotc1400
idiotish1544
idiotly1581
idiotical1656
idiotic1659
imbecile1778
gypit1804
cretinist1858
cretinous1871
imbecilic1872
bodoh1873
dinlo1907
boob1911
pointy-headed1950
fuckwitted1973
divvy1975
fuckwit1979
numpty1992
1911 Indianapolis Star 27 May The battle..was ended when Dr. Warren Gill made a boob play at second and was caught asleep at the switch for the last out.
1921 N.Y. Tribune 30 May 8/5 Gee, it's a useless toddle, slow as-well, As them boob horses on a carousel.
1934 R. Stout Fer-de-lance (1935) i. 8 A boob thing to say.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
boobn.2
/buːb/, U.S. /bub/ colloquial (originally U.S.).
In plural: a woman's breasts. Also sometimes in singular: a breast.Also occasionally denoting unusually prominent breasts on a man or boy (cf. man boobs n. at man n.1 Compounds 2a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > front > breast or breasts (of woman) > [noun]
titOE
breastOE
mammaOE
pysea1400
mamellec1450
dug1530
duckya1533
bag1579
pommela1586
mam1611
Milky Way1622
bubby?1660
udder1702
globea1727
fore-buttock1727
tetty1746
breastwork?1760
diddy1788
snows1803
sweets1817
titty1865
pappy1869
Charleys1874
bub1881
breastiec1900
ninny1909
pair1919
boobs1932
boobya1934
fun bag1938
maraca1940
knockers1941
can1946
mammaries1947
bazooms1955
jug1957
melon1957
bosoms1959
Bristols1961
chichi1961
nork1962
puppies1963
rack1968
knob1970
dingleberry1980
jubblies1991
1932 J. T. Farrell Young Lonigan iv. 171 Studs didn't usually pay attention to how girls looked, except to notice..their boobs, if they were big enough to bounce.
1955 T. Williams Cat on Hot Tin Roof (1956) i. 7 He always drops his eyes down my body when I'm talkin' to him, drops his eyes to my boobs an' licks his old chops!
1988 T. Rusk & N. Rusk Mind Traps ii. 15 ‘Are you sure you're not a girl? You've got more to show than my sister. Hey, come over here you guys. Look at his boobs!’ This scene was the living nightmare of my youth—the danger I risked each time I removed my shirt and revealed my naked obesity.
1991 J. Marsden Lett. from Inside (2001) 89 Her left boob's even bigger.
2010 Cosmopolitan (U.K. ed.) Feb. 130/4 (caption) Strapless tops aren't good for big boobs.
Compounds
General attributive and objective, as boob reduction, boob size, etc.See also boob job at job n.2 1d, boob tube n.2
ΚΠ
1976 Spare Rib Oct. 5/4 Minoan ladies who wore tight-fitting boob-exposing jackets.
1982 Listener 23 Dec. 46/3 A gruesome farrago of boob-flashing and saloon-bar wit.
1995 Spy (N.Y.) July 46/2 Gratuitous boob shots, masturbation scenes and more wet T-shirts than a Fort Lauderdale spring break.
1999 Sunday People 26 Sept. 18/5 A blonde model who had plastic surgery to boost her breasts to a massive 32HHH now wants a boob reduction.
2009 Times 15 Dec. 92/1 The folk who recount their experiences..trying to enhance boob size with vinegar.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
boobv.
/buːb/, U.S. /bub/ slang and colloquial.
1. transitive. Chiefly Australian. To lock (a person) up; to send to prison. Frequently in passive. Cf. boob n.1 2. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > imprison [verb (transitive)] > send or take to
send971
rub1673
mill1838
boob1895
porridge1965
1895 Queensland Times 2 Mar. 7/5 Mr. Young said that, if he had used the same language that Mr. Miller had done, he would have been ‘boobed’.
1911 Murchison (W. Austral.) Advocate 16 Feb. This is the third occasion that he has been ‘boobed’ with only a couple of days between his release and re imprisonment.
1922 Truth (Sydney) 19 Feb. 12/3 (headline) Bludger boobed for six months.
1933 Sunday Times (Perth, Austral.) 26 Mar. 4/7 He now having forgotten how many times he has been boobed.
2. transitive. Chiefly U.S. To treat (a person) as a fool; to deceive or dupe; to trick (a person) into doing something, or out of a possession, etc. Cf. boob n.1 1 Now rare.
ΚΠ
1915 Cosmopolitan July 247/1 Wallingford's sense of chagrin at having been ‘boobed’ by his own family was keener than Blackie's.
1919 Sat. Evening Post 22 Mar. 74/1 He realized that not an hour before he had parted with the only valuable property the Jones family possessed, sold it for a song, been boobed out of it.
1921 Judge 1 Oct. 34/2 This is what Mindel was boobed into believing before he quit vodka for wood alcohol.
1953 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 25 Apr. 2/7 I was boobed into going into one of those X-ray places with a friend.
3.
a. transitive. To make a mess of (an undertaking); to mishandle, to bungle. Now somewhat rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > be unskilled in [verb (transitive)] > bungle
botch1530
bungle1530
mumble1588
muddle1605
mash1642
bumble?1719
to fall through ——1726
fuck1776
blunder1805
to make a mull of1821
bitch1823
mess1823
to make a mess of1834
smudge1864
to muck up1875
boss1887
to make balls of1889
duff1890
foozle1892
bollocks1901
fluff1902
to make a muck of1903
bobble1908
to ball up1911
jazz1914
boob1915
to make a hash of1920
muff1922
flub1924
to make a hat of1925
to ass up1932
louse1934
screw1938
blow1943
to foul up1943
eff1945
balls1947
to make a hames of1947
to arse up1951
to fuck up1967
dork1969
sheg1981
bodge1984
1915 S. Ford Torchy, Private Sec. xvi. 284 Suppose he hadn't boobed it this way.
1928 Daily Mail 29 Nov. 11/5 A pilot who had never crashed or ‘boobed’ anything.
1959 Daily Mail 21 Sept. 1/1 Many of the arrangements have been ‘boobed’ and the famous American efficiency has sometimes broken down.
1972 D. Du Maurier Rule Britannia iv. 51 Ever since we boobed it in Europe.
b. intransitive. To make a foolish mistake; to blunder.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > an error, mistake > blunder [verb (intransitive)]
shail1528
blunder1711
floor1835
to make a bloomer1889
pull1913
to drop a brick1916
boob1935
to put up a black1939
goof1941
to screw up1942
to drop a bollock1948
to drop a clanger1948
to cock up1974
1935 T. E. Lawrence Lett. (1938) 851 The camera seems wholly in place as journalism: but when it tries to re-create it boobs.
1951 ‘N. Shute’ Round Bend v. 132 If I boob on this one it'll mean the finish of the business.
1984 B. Gugliotta Pigboat 39 iv. 68 As in most inspections, they all boobed a little, from the captain on down, but nobody boobed too much.
2002 Y. ben David These Days will never come Back ii. 28 The BBC had boobed, and boobed badly.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.1adj.1907
n.21932
v.1895- to be born in a mill
- to be born of god
- to be born on third
- to be born on third base
- to be born on third base and think one has hit a triple
- to be born ready
- to be born under a lucky star
- to be born under a unlucky star
- to be born under a —— star
- to be born with a silver spoon in one's mouth
- to be bought and sold
- to be bound
- to be bound in the bundle of life
- to be branched
- to be bred and born
- to be bred, sent to the lattern
- to be brewing
- to be bricking it
- to be bricking oneself
- to be brief
- to be broiling
- to be brought into love's dance
- to be buddies with
- to be buddy-buddies with
- to be buddybuddies with