boo-boo
[boo-boo]
- a stupid or silly mistake; blunder.
- a minor injury.
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Origin of boo-boo
An Americanism dating back to 1950–55; baby talk
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for boo-boo
Contemporary Examples
And unlike the speech I delivered in 2003, you managed to finish without describing people who solve problems as “Boo-Boo Fixers.”
Historical Examples
"There's nothin' to boo-boo for," he said, with a half-affected brusqueness.
A Waif of the PlainsBret Harte
"'Boo-boo' was the exception that proves the rule," answered Jack hotly.
What Timmy DidMarie Adelaide Belloc Lowndes
boo-boo
- informal an embarrassing mistake; blunder
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Word Origin
C20: perhaps from nursery talk; compare boohoo
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for boo-boo
n.
"mistake," 1954, apparently a reduplication of boob, which had acquired a secondary sense of "foolish mistake" (1934).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper