“But you won’t last. You’ll crack under the incessant fire of smashes, and wind up in the booby hatch.”

-The Iron Man

boo′by hatch`

n.

1. (on a vessel) a small companion secured over a deck opening.

2. Slang.

a. an insane asylum.

b. jail.

Other slang terms for American psychiatric hospitals, such as “nut house” and “cuckoo nest,” are perhaps related to the slang term “nut-case” for the insane.

boo·by1

ˈbo͞obē/

noun

noun: booby; plural noun: boobies

1. a stupid or childish person.

2. a large tropical seabird of the gannet family, with brown, black, or white plumage and often brightly colored feet.

The word origin on this term is unclear. But it is this reader’s thought that there is a connection between the naming of the booby hatch on a ship and the sea bird.