booger

[ boog-er ]

noun

1. Informal. any person or thing:

   That shark was a mean-looking booger. Paddle the little booger and send him home.

2. Slang. a piece of dried mucus in or from the nose.
3. bogeyman.
4. Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. any ghost, hobgoblin, or other frightening apparition.

Word History and Origins

Origin of booger¹

1865–70; perhaps variant of British dialect boggard goblin, bogy; in senses of booger defs 1, 2 conflated with bugger ¹

Example Sentences

“Keep the boogers moving, keep the tears moving, go do something of service. If you can’t be helped, then go help somebody.”

From Seattle Times

“So, fitting I would start this job on your first birthday. I love you, little booger.”

From Los Angeles Times

When one coral Furby managed to understand that I was there, it asked if it had a booger, told me it would become “president of the moon,” and sang me a generic Auto-Tuned song.

From Los Angeles Times

Whether you eat your boogers or wipe them on things I end up touching, it is an indisputably unsanitary act and unacceptable in every culture on Earth.

From Seattle Times

“I get nervous. What if she smells me and I smell bad? What if I have a booger?”

From Literature