From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Hatch \Hatch\, n. [OE. hacche, AS. h[ae]c, cf. haca the bar of a
door, D. hek gate, Sw. h[aum]ck coop, rack, Dan. hekke
manger, rack. Prob. akin to E. hook, and first used of
something made of pieces fastened together. Cf. {Heck},
{Hack} a frame.]
1. A door with an opening over it; a half door, sometimes set
with spikes on the upper edge.
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In at the window, or else o'er the hatch. --Shak.
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2. A frame or weir in a river, for catching fish.
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3. A flood gate; a sluice gate. --Ainsworth.
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4. A bedstead. [Scot.] --Sir W. Scott.
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5. An opening in the deck of a vessel or floor of a warehouse
which serves as a passageway or hoistway; a hatchway;
also; a cover or door, or one of the covers used in
closing such an opening.
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6. (Mining) An opening into, or in search of, a mine.
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{Booby hatch}, {Buttery hatch}, {Companion hatch}, etc. See
under {Booby}, {Buttery}, etc.
{To batten down the hatches} (Naut.), to lay tarpaulins over
them, and secure them with battens.
{To be under hatches}, to be confined below in a vessel; to
be under arrest, or in slavery, distress, etc.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Booby \Boo"by\ (b[=oo]"b[y^]), n.; pl. {Boobies} (-b[i^]z). [Sp.
bobo dunce, idiot; cf. L. balbus stammering, E. barbarous.]
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1. A dunce; a stupid fellow.
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2. (Zool.)
(a) A swimming bird ({Sula fiber} or {Sula sula}) related
to the common gannet, and found in the West Indies,
nesting on the bare rocks. It is so called on account
of its apparent stupidity -- unafraid of men, it
allows itself to be caught by a simple and undisguised
approach. The name is also sometimes applied to other
species of gannets; as, {Sula piscator}, the
{red-footed booby}; and {Sula nebouxii}, the
{blue-footed booby}.
(b) A species of penguin of the antarctic seas.
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{Booby hatch}
(a) (Naut.), a kind of wooden hood over a hatch, readily
removable.
(b), an insane asylum. [Colloq.]
{Booby hut}, a carriage body put upon sleigh runners. [Local,
U. S.] --Bartlett.
{Booby hutch}, a clumsy covered carriage or seat, used in the
eastern part of England. --Forby.
{Booby prize}, an award for the poorest performance in a
competition; hence, metaphorically, the recognition of a
strikingly inferior or incompetent performance.
{Booby trap}
(a), a schoolboy's practical joke, as a shower bath when a
door is opened.
(b), any concealed device causing surprise or injury when
a usually harmless object is touched; -- in military
operations, typically containing an explosive charge.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
booby hatch
n 1: pejorative terms for an insane asylum [syn: {Bedlam},
{booby hatch}, {crazy house}, {cuckoo's nest}, {funny
farm}, {funny house}, {loony bin}, {madhouse}, {nut house},
{nuthouse}, {sanatorium}, {snake pit}]
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