Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Alternative spelling of booby trap.
  • verb To set up with booby traps; to plant a booby trap on.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Flatware is not the etiquette booby-trap that people seem to think.

    Miss Manners washingtonpost.com 2010

  • A 25-year-old Catholic policeman who had just joined Northern Ireland's police force was killed after a booby-trap bomb exploded as he got into his car in the town of Omagh, police and neighbors said.

    World Watch 2011

  • Until Saturday, such booby-trap attacks had badly maimed two other officers but killed nobody.

    Booby-trap bomb kills Northern Ireland policeman 2011

  • "I'm getting estimates on what it would cost to booby-trap the star," Lee quips to Comic Riffs, "because I can't bear the thought of people walking all over me!"

    STAN LEE gets a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame Michael Cavna 2011

  • A booby-trap car bomb killed Constable Ronan Kerr outside his home in Omagh, where 29 men, women and children were murdered in 1998.

    Horror in Omagh as bomb kills Northern Ireland policeman 2011

  • It contains advice for every imaginable hostile situation, from how to booby-trap a napkin, to how to conduct a drive-by shooting, to how to recognize a rattlesnake or treat a scorpion sting.

    The Longest War Peter L. Bergen 2011

  • There was a small gap, large enough to see that there were no wires or magnets or contacts inside that might signal a booby-trap circuit.

    Gideon’s war Howard Gordon 2011

  • They backed up onto a second booby-trap, leaving five of the seven crewmen, including Lance Cpl.

    Can Needles Soothe Wounded Warriors? Michael M. Phillips 2011

  • It contains advice for every imaginable hostile situation, from how to booby-trap a napkin, to how to conduct a drive-by shooting, to how to recognize a rattlesnake or treat a scorpion sting.

    The Longest War Peter L. Bergen 2011

  • Since 2007, IRA dissidents have planted dozens of such booby-trap bombs under the private cars of police officers.

    Booby-trap bomb kills Northern Ireland policeman 2011

Comments

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  • "Q. How do I stop cats from digging up my garden?

    A. Buy a long range water pistol - one shot should make a cat stop. You can also try booby-traps. Place a balloon below the ground where the cats dig and with one pop they will never come near your blooms again." - Scott Miller in 'Right At Home', 2 Dec 2007.

    December 4, 2007