bo-peep

[ boh-peep ]

noun

1. peekaboo.

bo-peep

/ ˌbəʊˈpiːp /

noun

1. a game for very young children, in which one hides (esp hiding one's face in one's hands) and reappears suddenly
2. informal.
   a quick look (esp in the phrase have a bo-peep )

Word History and Origins

Origin of bo-peep¹

1520–30; bo (variant of boo ¹ ) + peep ¹

Example Sentences

As I stood idle by Mr. Jaggers’s fire, its rising and falling flame made the two casts on the shelf look as if they were playing a diabolical game at bo-peep with me; while the pair of coarse, fat office candles that dimly lighted Mr. Jaggers as he wrote in a corner were decorated with dirty winding-sheets, as if in remembrance of a host of hanged clients.

From Literature

“Little Bo-Peep did not lose her sheep.”

From Literature

“You don’t like some poor little girl”—she throws on a Little Bo-Peep voice, fluffs her hair—“following big, manly Craig around the ward?”

From Literature

The legal and mental-health activists opposed to civil commitment of disturbed persons make the National Rifle Association look like Little Bo-Peep.

From Wall Street Journal

Take heed Of bo-peep with your pate, your pate, Sir, I speak plain language now.

From Project Gutenberg