booby hatch

noun
1.
Nautical.
  1. a small hatch giving access to a ladder from the weather deck of a vessel to the interior of the hull.
  2. a small companion secured over a deck opening.
  3. a hoodlike hatch cover having a sliding top.
2.
Slang.
  1. an insane asylum.
  2. jail.
Origin
1830-40
British Dictionary definitions for booby hatch

booby hatch

noun
1.
a hoodlike covering for a hatchway on a ship
2.
(US, offensive, slang) a mental hospital
Slang definitions & phrases for booby hatch

booby hatch

noun phrase
  1. An insane asylum; mental hospital: King Bolden cut hair in the booby-hatch (1890s+)
  2. (also booby hutch) A police station (1950s+ Underworld)

[first sense perhaps connected with Colney Hatch, a village near London where an insane asylum was opened in 1851; the name became generic for a mental hospital]