[first and second senses echoic; show-business senses probably a shortening of boffo] See THROW A FUCK INTO someone laudatory n 1 A dollar or dollar bill : That's worth a million boffos (1920s+) 2 A year, esp a one-year prison sentence; Boppo (1920s+ Underworld) 3 A laugh, esp a loud laugh in response to a comedian; BOFF, BOFFOLA (1940s+ Show business) 4 A joke or a witty remark; BOFF (1940s+ Show business) 5 A successful entertainment; BOFF, HIT : her string of box-office boffos (1940s+ Show business) [fr a 19thcentury carnival term based on the idea of a good box office]