boon.2
/buː/, U.S. /bu/ slang (originally U.S.). Now somewhat dated.
Marijuana. Also attributive, as boo smoke, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > a) narcotic drug(s) > marijuana or cannabis
bhang1598
hashish1598
cannabis1765
ganja1800
Indian hemp1803
sabzi1804
cannabin1843
deiamba1851
charas1860
liamba1861
hemp1870
cannabis resin1871
marijuana1874
kef1878
locoweed1898
weed1917
Mary Ann1925
mootah1926
muggle1926
Mary Jane1928
Mary Warner1933
Mary and Johnny1935
Indian hay1936
mu1936
mezz1937
moocah1937
grass1938
jive1938
pot1938
mary1940
reefer1944
rope1944
smoke1946
hash1948
pod1952
gear1954
green1957
smoking weed1957
boo1959
Acapulco1965
doobie1967
Mary J1967
cheeba1971
Maui Wowie1971
4201974
Maui1977
pakalolo1977
spliff1977
draw1979
kush1979
resin1980
bud1982
swag1986
puff1989
chronic1992
schwag1993
hydro1995
1959 Esquire Nov. 70H Boo, marijuana. Also, Gage, Greens, Head, [etc.].
1965 Harper'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.
1975 New 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.
1985 Playboy Jan. 119/2 Where's the fun in..inhaling carbon-monoxide fumes, when you could be toking refreshing essence of boo smoke.
2002 J. Goad Shit Magnet iii. 34 I even studied the nickname for each drug, like marijuana is called ‘Maryjane’ and ‘boo’, and cocaine is called ‘snow’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
boon.3
/buː/, U.S. /bu/ Originally and chiefly U.S. slang (earliest in African-American usage).
A girlfriend or boyfriend; a lover. Also as a form of address.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > a lover > [noun] > one who is loved or a sweetheart
copenerc897
lovec1225
lemanc1275
sweetinga1300
druery13..
doceamurc1320
paramoura1375
honeybirdc1390
honey-sweetc1440
dowsec1450
heart-rootc1460
prim1509
joa1529
sweetheart1576
love-mate1582
belamour1590
copemate1593
frister1639
sprunny1739
Liebling1868
Liebchen1876
angel pie1878
loved one1879
cariad1899
square piece1925
sheikha1926
sweetie-pie1928
oppo1932
poopsie1937
mi'jita1970
squeeze1980
boo1988
bae2006
1988 Washington Post 22 Dec. d5/2 Lionel R. Harris is my boyfriend. Lewis shot my Boo and it was not self-defense.
1994 T. Woods True to Game xvii. 195 Qua, please, please..baby, don't leave me. Don't leave me now! Boo, talk to me!
1998 Time 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.
2002 ‘Nelly’ et al. Dilemma (transcribed from song) Even when I'm with my boo, boy you know I'm crazy over you.
2016 Herald Sun (Austral.) (Nexis) 4 Aug. 39 Start a band, tell your mates to do the same, find a venue (it could be your backyard, it could be my backyard, I'll ask my boo) and raise some funds.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
boov.
/buː/, U.S. /bu/ 1. intransitive. To low or bellow as a cow does; to make a noise comparable to that made by a cow or similar animal. Cf. boo n.1 1. Now rare (chiefly English regional).In quot. a1555, possibly transitive with ‘the holye scriptures’ as object.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > bos taurus or ox > [verb (intransitive)] > make sound
bellowc1000
lowOE
routc1475
boc1487
lout1530
mooc1550
mow1553
booa1555
blart1896
a1555 J. Hooper Expos. vpon 23 Psalme of Dauid (1562) sig. Avij The ungodlye colleges of priestes..that dayly boo and rore the holye scriptures.
1706 T. D'Urfey Wonders in Sun iii. i. 50 There I keep my Father's Cows... Booing here, Booing there, Here a Boo, there a Boo, every where a Boo.
1850 Missionary Herald (Boston) Oct. 150/2 The cow's tether is put about the neck of the individual who has lost the cow, and he must go about booing like a cow till atonement is made.
1969 H. Orton & M. V. Barry Surv. Eng. Dial. II. i. 304 Q[uestion.] Now tell me your words for the usual cries animals make. Cows, during feeding-time in the cowhouse,..[Shropshire] Boo.
2.
a. transitive. Usually of an audience or other large group of people: to express disdain for or dissatisfaction with (a person or thing) by making a sound resembling ‘boo’; to jeer at. In later use also (with off, out, etc.): to drive away by jeering; to cause (a person, esp. a performer) to leave a specified place by jeering.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > disapprove of [verb (transitive)] > express disapproval of > by sound or exclamation
hootc1175
to clap out1550
explose?c1550
explode1563
hiss1598
exsibilate1601
to hum up, down1642
out-hiss1647
chuckle1681
catcall1700
scrape1773
groan1799
to get the (big) bird1825
boo1833
fie-fie1836
goose1838
sibilate1864
cluck1916
bird1927
slow handclap1949
tsk-tsk1966
tut1972
1833 Kaleidoscope (Eton College) 25 Mar. 177 The whole school raised a yell, booing, hissing, and scraping feet.
1877 Belfast News-let. 30 Oct. His son had nothing to do with the crowd who ‘booed’ the police.
1893 Daily News 27 Jan. 5/1 It was not a booing that booed the piece to immediate perdition.
1955 Times 4 Aug. 10/4 Some of the audience booed the performance on the first night.
1967 Listener 12 Jan. 45/2 François Mauriac..tried to boo the singer off the stage.
1978 Washington Post (Nexis) 27 Dec. (Sport section) d1 We'd probably be booed out of the arena.
2005 N. Hornby Long Way Down 143 All these stupid brain-dead old bags in the audience booed us.
b. intransitive. To make a sound resembling ‘boo’; esp. to make such a sound in order to express disdain, contempt, disapproval, dissatisfaction, etc.; to hoot, shout, or jeer. Cf. boo int. 2, boo-hoo v. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > disapprove [verb (intransitive)] > express disapproval by sound or exclamation
hoota1225
hissa1425
hem and hawk1588
catcall1735
cluck1821
tut1832
fie-fie1836
boo1855
harrumph1936
tsk-tsk1966
steups1967
1855 J. M. D. in Fraser's Mag. Oct. 397/1 I ‘boohed’ again and again, but my man of the woods did not seem disposed either to attack me or to flee.
1884 Good Words May 324/2 A voice booing and hulloing.
1945 This Week Mag. 21 Apr. 10 The opposition booed.
2006 Belleville (Ont.) Intelligencer (Nexis) 16 Aug. c 2 When I got there and they started booing, I got a little nervous.
Derivatives
ˈbooer n. a person who makes a sound resembling ‘boo’, esp. in order to express disdain, contempt, disapproval, dissatisfaction, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > [noun] > one who disapproves > by sound or exclamation
hisserc1440
mewer1611
catcall1714
booer1904
1904 Daily 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.
1923 Daily Mail 28 Sept. 6/3 Then..the booer will learn to give vent to his feelings in a more civilised way.
2016 Times (Nexis) 21 Mar. 53 At the end, the booers and the cheerers competed for attention.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
booint.n.1
/buː/, U.S. /bu/ A. int.
1. Representing an abrupt exclamation intended to surprise or frighten. Cf. bo int.Attested earliest in to say boo to a goose at Phrases 1a.
ΚΠ
1639 J. Taylor Iuniper Lect. 34 Thou are not able at any time to say boo to a Goose.
1692 ‘J. Curate’ Sc. Presbyterian Eloquence iii. 106 Boo is a word that's used in the North of Scotland to frighten crying Children.
a1734 R. 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.
1848 W. 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.
1863 C. Kingsley Water-babies viii. 323 So you can't feel frightened, my little dear—eh? I'll do that for you, I'll make an impression on you! Yah! Boo!
1922 P. G. Wodehouse Clicking of Cuthbert viii. 192 Do shout ‘Boo!’ at him when he is starting his down-swing!
1992 D. Parry & P. Withrow Jacamar Nest xxvi. 203 A small boy was coming at you tippytoe from your blind side, getting ready to say ‘Boo.’
2016 Hull Daily Mail (Nexis) 28 Sept. 12 It doesn't matter how many times you go on the ghost train, the man who jumps out shouting ‘boo!’ will always scare the living daylights out of you.
2. Representing a sound used to express disdain, contempt, disapproval, dissatisfaction, etc. Cf. pooh int., boo hoo int. 2, yah boo int.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > expressions of disapproval [interjection]
fie1297
avoyc1300
spyc1315
comec1450
tuta1529
oh1533
hum1598
rufty-tufty1606
aroint thee!1608
hoot1681
boo1778
hoots1824
boo hoo1825
now, now1847
aw1852
tch1898
tsk1947
1778 C. Dibdin Poor Vulcan i. ii. 11 I've heard the folks laugh at that sign; And one crie boo: another chuckled.
1800 M. Edgeworth Castle Rackrent 76 Oh, boo! boo! (says I, making light of it).
1855 W. M. Thackeray Rose & Ring (1866) viii. 48 He..fell asleep and snored horridly. Booh, the nasty pig!
1928 Beatrice (Nebraska) Daily Sun 3 Oct. 1/4 Some in the audience at the same time went ‘Boo, boo, boo.’
1995 G. Linehan & A. Mathews Passion of Saint Tibulus (TV script, penultimate draft) in Father Ted (1999) 44/2 Dougal: Booo!.. Ted: You dirty, filthy beggars!
2010 Daily Tel. 29 Apr. 25/5 I suggest a panel consisting of a parking warden (boo!), a famous footballer (hurrah!), a disgraced politician (boo!) and a pop singer (hurrah! hurrah! woo!).
B. n.1† 1. The lowing sound made by a cow or similar animal; an imitation of this; = moo n.1 1. Cf. boo v. 1. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > bos taurus or ox > [noun] > sound made by
boingc1487
rout1513
lowa1522
boo1706
bellow1779
moo1789
1706 T. D'Urfey Wonders in Sun iii. i. 50 There I keep my Father's Cows... Booing here, Booing there, Here a Boo, there a Boo, every where a Boo.
1801 R. Gill Tint Quey in R. Chambers Misc. Pop. Sc. Poems (1862) 176 He heard a boo ahint a hedge.
1866 St. James's Mag. 16 89 The..outer apartment is in general reserved for the horse, cow, or stirk, which salutes strangers..with a loud ‘boo’.
1876 Dundee Courier & Argus 19 July With a loud ‘boo oo,’..it [sc. a cow] charged the crowd, who beat a hasty retreat.
2. An abrupt exclamation intended to surprise or frighten; a cry of ‘boo’ used in this way.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > cry or exclamation > [noun] > other specific cries or exclamations
O?c1225
heyc1400
hoc1405
whoopc1450
oha1535
ooh1602
whowb1602
phew1613
hogmanay1692
ah1712
yo-hope1724
whew1751
whoo1763
yah1812
yo-heave-ho1813
yoicks1817
yo-he-ho1827
yo1830
boo1833
yoick1854
hot-cha-cha1932
ooh-la-la1952
ooh-ah1957
eina1971
eish2005
1833 Court Mag. July 15/2 I pulled my fur cap over my face, kicked open the clock door, jumped out with a loud ‘Boo—oo—oo!’
1945 Tweed Daily (Murwillumbah, New S. Wales) 28 Nov. 2/8 When the guard passed..he was sometimes greeted with a sudden ‘Boo!’ This invariably made the guard jump.
2015 Lynn News (Nexis) 16 Nov. Jumping out on someone with a loud ‘boo!’ and making them jump out of their skin.
3. An inarticulate lowing or hooting exclamation used to express disdain, contempt, disapproval, dissatisfaction, etc., esp. one made by an audience or other large group of people; a cry of ‘boo’ used in this way. Cf. sense A. 2, boo hoo n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > [noun] > expression of disapproval > by sounds or exclamations
hootinga1225
hissingc1384
fie?1550
acclamation1602
hiss1602
hoot1612
catcall1749
catcallingc1781
scraping1785
sibilation1822
the big bird1825
boo hoo1825
booing1830
Kentish fire1834
boo-hooing1865
boo1884
slow handclap1904
tutting1929
slow handclapping1932
slow clap1937
1884 Christian World 25 Sept. 717/1 The sibilant hiss and the contemptuous ‘boo’.
1929 P. Guedalla Missing Muse 208 It has not yet fallen to me, in a brief political career, to hear eight thousand boos.
1985 Times 2 July 1/4 There were angry boos and shouts of ‘scab’.
2018 Daily News (N.Y.) (Nexis) 27 Jan. 11 1 The comment elicited a mixture of boos, hisses and laughter from the audience.
Phrases
P1. † b. Scottish. to say boo to a person's blanket and variants: to reproach or criticize a person in the slightest. Only in negative constructions. Cf. to say bo to a person's blanket at bo int. Phrases 2. Obsolete.
a. to say boo to a goose: to speak; esp. to speak up for oneself; to take a stand. Only in negative constructions, usually implying shyness or timidity, as he (she, etc.) wouldn't say boo to a goose, etc. Cf. bo int. Phrases 1.
ΚΠ
1639 J. Taylor Iuniper Lect. 34 Thou are not able at any time to say boo to a Goose.
1742 J. Hervey New C—t Ballad 3 Those Who we know never dare to say Boo to a Goose.
1780 F. Pilon Humours of Election i. 1 He can't say boo! to a goose.
1840 F. 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.
1873 Chicago 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.
1932 A. J. Worrall Eng. Idioms 12 That girl is a rabbit. She's afraid to say ‘Boo’ to a goose.
1991 J. Kelman Burn (1992) 185 When we were wee he wouldni say boo to a goose. Now he can patter any woman he meets.
2005 E. Barr Plan B (2006) xxiv. 251 Some mumsy little woman who wouldn't say boo to a goose.
ΚΠ
1770 Hamilton's Life Surprising Adventure & Heroic Actions William Wallace (ESTC 170663) xii. ii. 238 After that no man had ought to say. Nor once durst give him but a saucy look, Or yet play boo unto his blanket nook.
1883 J. Christie in D. H. Edwards Mod. Sc. Poets 6th Ser. 266 Be honest, and eident, and thrify, That nane may say ‘boo’ to your blanket.
1928 in Sc. National Dict. (1941) II. 192/1 ‘Canna say boo tae yer blanket’ would mean in Buchan ‘cannot cast a slur on your character’.
c. to say boo to: to speak to (a person, etc.); (now) esp. to say anything (to a person) by way of a challenge, complaint, etc.; to stand up to (a person, authority, etc.). Hence also, to say boo (about): to say anything about a topic; to speak up, to express an opinion; esp. to complain, to raise concerns. Chiefly in negative constructions.
ΚΠ
1774 D. Garrick Christmas Tale i. i. 3 Here she comes again, and I can't say boo! to her for the life of me.
1845 S. Smith May-day in N.Y. i. 35 She got up and went out..and never said boo to one of us.
1883 I. 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.
1964 R. 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?
1989 O. 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.
2000 Daily 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.
2003 Irish Times (Nexis) 9 Dec. (Sport section) 22 The trend of penalty counts favouring home teams seems..to be getting worse, and hardly anyone says ‘boo’ about it anymore.
P2. North American. not to know boo: to know nothing about a topic; to have no knowledge or understanding of something. Frequently with about.
ΚΠ
1860 D. C. Scudder Let. 23 Nov. in H. E. Scudder Life & Lett. David Coit Scudder (1864) 134 M. M. doesn't know boo about Tamil.
1907 Anamosa Prison Press 23 Mar. 4/2 I do not know boo about raising chickens.
1949 Desert Sun (Palm Springs, Calif.) 13 Dec. 12/5 I didn't know boo about what was under the hood.
1996 Y. Martel Self 243 It occurred to me that I didn't know boo about Hungary.
2018 @HaleySullivan8 20 Jan. in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) I wish I could help you but I don't know boo.
Compounds
boo bird n. North American (originally Sport) a person who habitually jeers or finds fault; a vocal critic; cf. boo-boy n.
ΚΠ
1934 Zanesville (Ohio) Signal 18 July (Sport section) 8/3 The boo birds are booin' in Cleveland.
1950 Washington Post 21 Feb. 17/6 (headline) Greenberg threatens to boot ‘boo-birds’ out of ball park.
1997 Time 2 June 71/2 Still, that hasn't stopped the Hollywood boo birds. She has been criticized for everything.
2016 Windsor (Ontario) Star (Nexis) 22 Sept. a8 Time for the mayor and council to sit down with the boo birds for some good ideas for a change.
boo-boy n. Sport (originally and chiefly British) a spectator or supporter who habitually jeers or finds fault; esp. (in plural) a particular section or group among the supporters of a team, distinguished as behaving in this manner.Earliest with reference to boxing; later chiefly in the context of Association Football.
ΚΠ
1966 Times 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!
1990 Sun 20 Oct. 31/3 Leeds boss Howard Wilkinson last night backed goal-starved striker Lee Chapman to beat the boo-boys.
2014 Herald (Harare) (Nexis) 22 Jan. Mambare was one of the two players targeted by the boo-boys with the other being striker Simba Sithole.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.21959
n.31988
v.a1555int.n.11639