booby trap

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See also: boobytrap and booby-trap

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology[edit]

From booby (dunce, idiot).

Noun[edit]

booby trap (plural booby traps)

  1. (military) An antipersonnel device deliberately hidden or disguised as a harmless object.
  2. A practical joke by which something is made to fall upon someone entering through a door, or the like.
  3. (by extension) An unforeseen source of danger; a pitfall.

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

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References[edit]

  • (practical joke): 1873, John Camden Hotten, The Slang Dictionary