booby prize

American  

noun

1. a prize given in good-natured ridicule to the worst player or team in a game or contest.

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booby prize British  

noun

1. a mock prize given to the person having the lowest score or giving the worst performance in a competition

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Etymology

Origin of booby prize

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

I really appreciate it in the book that you were not going to talk about becoming the "wise, sage woman" like it's some kind of booby prize.

From Salon • May 6, 2023

Perhaps, though, if the government ultimately gets to keep Bolton’s profits, it will all eventually add up to a ridiculous booby prize for the whole country.

From Slate • Jun. 16, 2020

I think that the situation is exactly the opposite, and that a “diminished” girl does not go running through the town, under so many horse noses, to find a booby prize.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 20, 2018

Any other week, “Gettin’ the Band Back Together” would have locked up Broadway’s booby prize, but it looks positively adequate by comparison with “Pretty Woman.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 17, 2018

Moreover, Mrs. Gushington-Andrews, hitherto considered one of the best fists at bridge or hearts in the 400, actually won the booby prize, which I saw her throw into the street when she departed.

From Mrs. Raffles Being the Adventures of an Amateur Crackswoman by Bangs, John Kendrick