Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (also hutch) a one-horse chaise, thus any clumsy carriage.

c.1786		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue ms. additions n.p.: Booby Hutch, a one Horse Chaise, Noddy Buggy or Leather bottle.
1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue (2nd, 3rd edn) n.p.: Booby Hutch. A one-horse chaise, noddy, buggy, or leathern bottle.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1812–82		B.M. Carew Life and Adventures.
1818		H. More Hist. Mr Fanton Stories (1830) I 10: All that multitude of coaches, chariots, chaises, vis-a-vis, booby-hutches, sulkies, sociables, phaetons, gigs, curricles, cabrioles, chairs, stages, pleasure-carts, and horses, which crowd our roads.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1825		‘West-Country Bumpkin’s Description’ Universal Songster I 230: There was men-folk and women-folk penned up together [...] Besides a long booby-hutch.
1840		‘Gloucestershire Bumpkin’ in Lover’s Harmony No. 18 138: There were men folk and women folk penned up together / (Like so many wethers or ewes at a fair,) / Besides a large booby hutch fit for holding, / The whole corporation, the justice and mayor.
1843		R.S. Surtees Handley Cross (1854) 422: Mr Jorrocks [...] had rather an affection for the Dismal, and thought he would do for his Boobey Hutch.
1845		R.S. Surtees Hillingdon Hall I 138: Not but the hutch is a good ’un, comfey hutch I may say, but it don’t do, when a lady and gen’lman want to be a leetle confidential, to have a servant stuck in behind, listenin’.
1890–1904		Farmer & Henley Sl. and Its Analogues.

2. a leather bottle [plays on the idea of the bottle, full of liquor, ‘ensnaring’ the fool; note milit. use booby hutch, a dug out; boobies’ hutch, a tolerated if unofficial bar in a barracks, which is open after the canteen shuts].

1788, 1796		see sense 1.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1812–82		B.M. Carew Life and Adventures.

3. (US) a police station.

1889–90

Barrère & Leland Dict. of Sl., Jargon and Cant.

4. a hiding-place, e.g. a dug-out.

1914		E. Packe diary 13 Nov. 🌐 Sleep in a splendid ‘booby-hutch’ and enjoy ourselves there till the Germans blow the side in.
1917		Birmingham Dly Gaz. 18 Aug. 4/5: A loaf of bread and bully-beef galore. Beside us lying in the booby-hutch what can a bloomin’ sojer wish for more?

5. (UK Und.) a cell, a jail.

1927		Nichols & Tully Twenty Below Act I: I never saw such a dam booby hutch.
1931		Framlingham Eve. News 24 Oct. 2: ‘Booby-hutch’ and ‘flatties’ are the not very respectful terms used to describe prison and policemen.
1936		H. Corey Farewell, Mr Gangster! 279: Slang used by English criminals [...] Booby hutch – prison.
1938		F.D. Sharpe Sharpe of the Flying Squad 329: booby or booby hutch : The cell.

6. a lunatic asylum.

1910		Caldwell Trib. (ID) 4 Feb. 2/4: One reason [...] why I am able [...] to keep my sky-piece working in double shifts is because I am a moving picture fiend. [...] It never gives you a headache [...] nor does it make for a hike to the booby hutch. For nervous prostration try the moving pictures .
1915		Palatka News (FL) 1 Oct. 2/2: Go, mark the down-and-outers, who throng through the booby hatch, the most of them were spouters, who always talked too much.
1919		Fairmount West Virginian (WV) 2 July 6/1: When they get to putting you in the booby hutch for not wanting to work in a garden, they’ll have to enlarge the lunatic asylums a lot.
1937		Wells Jrnl 13 Aug. 4/5: A Council, who voices our views, / Should not make a scene, which can only mean / A ridiculous page in the news / [...] / And the Chamber a mere booby hutch.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).