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Glite Dictionary
booby prize

booby prize

2 6.3
A small funny gift for the person who finishes last
  • noun
  • /ˈbuːbi praɪz/
  • Informal
translation icon : premio de consolación
  • The company decided to give a booby prize to the employee who made the funniest mistake during the presentation.

Examples

  • During the contest, the last-place team received a booby prize that had everyone laughing.

  • And at the party, we'll give her the booby prize.

    The Fabelmans (2022)

  • Well, it looks like Lucie Lee ain't gonna be taking home that booby prize after all.

    Making Love (1982)

  • In most games, there are also booby prizes, or gifts at the undesirable end of the hierarchy.

    Academic text (2013)

  • Such booby prizes promote a flurry of comments and laughter, and the hilarity is compounded when they show up year after year.

    Academic text (2013)

  • Evil Santa party hosts sometimes stipulate that the final recipient of a gift must take it home with them since booby prize recipients have a tendency to leave the offending item at the host's residence.

    Academic text (2013)

  • Some booby prizes include multicolored crocheted potholders, polyester Christmas socks, and a manta.

    Academic text (2013)

  • Booby prizes may be tacky, cheaply made, tasteless, boring, ugly, and/or trite.

    Academic text (2013)

  • At the end of the quiz, he was awarded the booby prize for answering the least number of questions correctly.

Synonyms

wooden spoon
vsbooby prize
  • UK
4.0

A prize often a small wooden object for the person or team finishing last in a competition

is a humorous joke award for last place rather than a literal object
fuck trophy
vsbooby prize
  • Offensive
9.9

A small prize people call useless and not worth anything

is a playful joke given to the lowest performer rather than an insult

Antonyms

prize
5 3.7

Of very high quality and often the best in a contest

How Prestigious

first prize
32 1.0
prize
892 1.0
booby prize
  • Informal
2 6.3

Surface Forms

booby prize singular
booby prizes plural

Morphology

booby + prize

The meaning is directly built from 'booby' (a foolish person) + 'prize' (a reward): it denotes a prize given to the 'booby' — i.e. a joke or consolation award for the loser. This compositional relation is straightforward and mirrors cross-linguistic patterns of 'prize for a fool/loser', so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The term booby prize may come from the word booby, which sailors used for a silly seabird that was easy to catch. Because booby came to mean 'fool' or someone who makes a mistake, a booby prize became a joke prize given to the last or worst person.