bookie

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʊki/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʊki

Etymology 1

Clipping of bookmaker +‎ -ie

Noun

bookie (plural bookies)

1. (informal) A bookmaker, being a person who, or business which, takes bets from the general public on sporting events and similar.

Synonyms

• turf accountant

Derived terms

• country bookie

Translations

bookmaker — see bookmaker

Etymology 2

From book +‎ -ie.

Noun

bookie (plural bookies)

1. (rare) Diminutive of book.
   • 1852, “Jubilee Conference of the Sunday School Union”, in The Union Magazine for Sunday School Teachers, volume IX, London: Sunday School Union, […], page 347:

     […] although I had not felt the power of the truth on my own heart, yet I took particular care to read all the little bookies before I put them into the hands of the children.

   • 1853, “The Scottish Prayer Book and the Scottish Canons”, in The Scottish Magazine, and Churchman’s Review, volume II, Edinburgh: R. Lendrum & Co., […], page 122:

     When, under the old regime, after the sermon was over “little bookies” were handed round, with this title—“The Communion Office, according to the use of the Church of Scotland,” was this nothing more than a handing about of lies in right hands, because the English Office was not bound up with them?

   • 1873, “[Reviews of Books.] Bessie Brown, and other Books. […]”, in The Scottish Sabbath-School Teachers’ Magazine, volume V, Edinburgh, London: Gall & Inglis. […], page 96, column 1:

     Gems, Jewels, Happy Stories for Boys, and Happy Stories for Girls, are the names of four attractive packets filled with those nice little bookies which are so much liked by young people.

   • 1921, Editor & Publisher, volume 53, page 27:

     Little Miss Muffet / Sat on a tuffet / Not eating curds and whey. / Instead, she ate cookies / And read little bookies / She saw advertised yesterday.

   • 1981, Anne Christie, My Secret Gorilla, Piatkus, →ISBN, page 1:

     ‘Read a bookie, Mummy.’ Tasha, my oldest, plump, pink, and beady-eyed, pulled at my leg. ‘Read a bookie.’ I sighed, and looked down at the little girl, surrounded by her heap of strewn books and balding teddies.

   • 2005, Chronicles, page 22:

     This year, the five finalists were all females living in New York City who had published precious little bookies they called novels—or were they hybrid short-story amalgamations?

   • 2015, Pëtr Filippovich Iakubovich, translated by Andrew A. Gentes, In the World of the Outcasts: Notes of a Former Penal Laborer, Volume II (Anthem Series on Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies), Anthem Press, →ISBN, page 134:

     Thus spoke our brave captain; but at the very same time, he responded in an entirely different spirit to questions from other prisoners who also sometimes begged for the “little bookies”: “I’ll show you bookies! Nonsense, nonsense! The Gospels and the Bible should be all a prisoner needs for spiritual sustenance.”

See also

• nookie-bookie