booger, n.² — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

booger n.²

1. (US black) anything unpleasant, burdensome, difficult.

[1866		C.H. Smith Bill Arp 78: To rot in some thicket, far, far away, where ghosts and boogers go dodging around].
1929		(con. WWI) R. Graves Goodbye to All That (1960) 82: A lance-corporal dictated a letter home [...] ‘This war is a booger.’.
1981		(con. 1967) P. Conroy Lords of Discipline 380: I didn’t like oysters [...] But I acquired a taste for the little boogers.
1993		J. Mowry Six Out Seven (1994) 31: Ain’t nobody in they right mind be believin that ole booger shit no more.
2000		C. Cook Robbers (2001) 70: Dangerous out here at night, all kinds of boogers. [Ibid.] 287: Boy, it was hot. Hundred degrees maybe, almost that much humidity, a real booger.

2. (US campus) an unpleasant person.

1908		L.W. Payne Jr ‘Word-List From East Alabama’ in DN III:iv 292: booger, n. [...] 4. Occasionally used in the same sense as bugger.
1932		in V. Randolph Pissing in the Snow (1988) 14: The little booger put the bucket on my head.
1977		(con. 1969) M. Herr Dispatches 47: He’s all pissed out, Charlie’s all pissed out, booger’s shot his whole wad.
1986		S. King It (1987) 444: The man surely does seem like a booger but at least he’s an honest booger.
1997–2000		Da Bomb 🌐 4: Booger: Term to describe someone you do not like.

3. a person, animal or object, with no derog. implications.

1905		L. Pound ‘Dialect Speech in Nebraska’ in DN III:i 60: booger, [...] n. About the same as skeezicks or tad. ‘He’s a funny little booger’.
1912		H.A. White ‘A Word-List From Central New York’ in DN III:8 566: booger, n. A mischievous child, used playfully.
1929		(con. WWI) R. Graves Goodbye to All That (1960) 84: The silly booger takes one of them new issue percussion bombs.
1946		(con. 1910s) J. Thompson Heed the Thunder (1994) 135: This old booger was about the funniest he’d run up against.
1979		R. Woodley Champ 8: I called on this booger [a horse] for all she had.
1998		J. Lansdale Rumble Tumble 139: Keep them from shooting and poisoning the little boogers.
2017		Negus Who Read 6 Mar. 🌐 I mean, those boogers are big!

4. (US black) on bad = good model, something excellent, someone admirable.

1936		L. Dent ‘Angelfish’ in Goulart (1967) 230: You’re sure a tall booger.
1953		L. Durst Jives of Dr. Hepcat (1989) 5: Then comes the ‘Whoola’ dancer whose [sic] just about a booger, fine frame no parts lame.
1988		G. Tate ‘Public Enemy’ in Flyboy in the Buttermilk (1992) 122: Some find Public Enemy too black, would rather they was rapping about boogers [...] than declaring themselves loud and proud supporters of Chesimard.
2000		F.X. Toole Rope Burns 36: Too bad about your boy, tough little booger.

5. (US, Southern) sexual intercourse with a woman.

1984

K. Weaver Texas Crude 71: In Texas there are three gradations of Sexual Woman. Number one is Cock [...] Number two is Booger [...] Number three is Pussy.

6. the female genitals.

1965

L. Bruce How to Talk Dirty 153: She’s getting some hair on her booger.

In compounds

booger bear (n.) (also boggie bear, boogabear, buger-bear) [bear n. (1c)/US regional use booger bear, a hobgoblin used to frighten children]

1. (US) any difficult situation or unpleasant thing.

1913		Tennessee Agriculture 2 330: Regulation, State and National, and legislation in favor of labor organizations [...] has about reached the limit of sanity and safety, and the familiar ‘booger bear,’ government ownership, looms up menacingly.
1931		Modern School Store 14 77: There is now a very destructive "booger-bear" in the yard of every man interested in peanuts. His real name is PEANUT DISEASE.
1964		E. Shrake But Not For Love 298: [of nuclear war] ‘All they’re told is to stay in their own little corners and try to forget about the booger bear’ .
2005		T. Russell Alien Attitudes 60: You really ought to get that power steering looked at. It is a booger bear to turn.

2. (US black) a notably ugly person, particularly a woman.

1947		M.H. Boulware Jive and Sl. n.p.: Boggie Bear ... Ugly man, or woman.
1970		Current Sl. V:2 5: Buger-bear, n. An ugly girl.
1972		K. Johnson ‘Vocab. of race’ in Kochman Rappin’ and Stylin’ Out 148: Booger-bear. Any ugly black woman.
1980		E. Folb Runnin’ Down Some Lines 144: Other derogatory terms for women liken their unattractiveness to animals [...] Terms like [...] beast, bat, and boogabear.
2007		R. Billingsley Blessings in Disguise 163: Chris was a booger bear if I ever seen one.

booger hook (n.)

(US black) a punch delivered when one’s opponent is not expecting it.

2000

Ebonics Primer at www.dolemite.com 🌐 booger hook Definition: a sucker punch, especially to the facial area Example: I half-stepped up on the fool and dropped him with a booger hook.

booger n.2

In compounds

booger n.²