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booby trap

a hidden bomb or mine so placed that it will be set off by an unsuspecting person through such means as moving an apparently harmless object.
any hidden trap set for an unsuspecting person.


[boo-bee-trap] /ˈbu biˌtræp/
verb (used with object), booby-trapped, booby-trapping.
to set with or as if with a booby trap; attach a booby trap to or in.
1940-45 Unabridged
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British Dictionary definitions for booby trap

booby trap

a hidden explosive device primed in such a way as to be set off by an unsuspecting victim
a trap for an unsuspecting person, esp one intended as a practical joke, such as an object balanced above a door to fall on the person who opens it
verb booby-trap, traps, -trapping, -trapped
(transitive) to set a booby trap in or on (a building or object) or for (a person)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Slang definitions & phrases for booby trap

booby trap

noun phrase
  1. A hidden explosive charge designed to be set off by some ordinary act, such as starting a vehicle or driving down a street, used originally in wartime to harass invaders •The British schoolboy's booby trap was a pitcher of water poised atop a door so that whoever opened the door would be doused
  2. A seemingly harmless appearance that conceals vexations arranged for an unsuspecting opponent: Don't debate him, it's a booby trap

: They booby-trapped his car and six people died (WWII Army; mid-1800s+ British)

Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
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