English

Alternative forms

• bo peep, bopeep

Noun

bo-peep ‎(plural bo-peeps)

1. The act of looking out suddenly, as from behind a screen, so as to startle someone (as by children in play), or of looking out and drawing suddenly back, as if frightened.
   • 1606, The Tragedy of King Lear by Shakespeare, scene IV

     That such a king should play bo-peep, / And go the fools among.

   • 1881, Geneva Gazette - Jul 8, 1881, page 2, "Official Paper Of The Village"

     They have not employed spies, nor been voluntary or involuntary witnesses of misdeeds or played "bopeep" through key-holes or from step-ladders through transom windows, upon the privacy of their political adversaries.

2. (countable, British Virgin Islands) Any whistling frog.

Synonyms

• (children's game): peek-a-boo, peep bo

Derived terms

• play at bo peep
• play bo peep
• bo peepers / bo-peepers

Translations