Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (orig. US, also bubu) a blunder, usu. embarrassing; esp. in phr. make a boo-boo.

1952		W. Winchell On Broadway 29 Aug. [synd. col.] The bubu of the week was pulled by Rayburn and Finch.
1954		J.D. MacDonald All These Condemned (2001) 168: I nearly made a terrible booboo.
1969		‘Iceberg Slim’ Mama Black Widow 113: Rajah’s Southside execution was the result of some private boo boo.
1975		L. Rosten Dear ‘Herm’ 109: It was one of the Seven Boo-Boos of the World.
1987		(con. 1970s) J. Pistone Donnie Brasco (2006) 348: You made some fucking boo-boo, pal. You got me sick over it.
1999		Guardian G2 31 May 7: George Lucas has made a boo-boo with Jar Jar.
2000		S. Maloney Big Ask 18: Fixing his fuck-ups and burying his boo-boos.
2005		J.E. Lawson Last Burn in Hell 25: Somewhere down the chain of command someone made a boo-boo with the paperwork.
2009		R. Milward Ten Storey Love Song 7: [O]f course you do run the risk of making a massive boo-boo.
2024		J. Meades Empty Wigs (t/s) 277: ...it made him wonder: had he made a big big booboo.

2. (N.Z. prison) a fool.

2001

D. Looser Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 26/2: booboo n. an idiot.

3. something unpleasant, an unacceptable situation.

2002

Teen Lingo: The Source for Youth Ministry 🌐 boo boo see ‘bootsie’ [i.e. ‘Something undesirable. An inopportune or unfair situation, event, or thing’].