Definition

1. Noun:
   • An evil spirit: A bogy is a supernatural being, often imagined as malevolent or frightening, used to scare children or in folklore.
   • An unidentified (and possibly enemy) aircraft: In military contexts, a bogy is an aircraft that cannot be immediately identified as friendly or hostile.

Examples

• Noun (evil spirit):
  • The old story told of a bogy that lived in the dark forest.
  • Parents sometimes warn their children that the bogy will come if they misbehave.
• Noun (unidentified aircraft):
  • The radar operator reported a bogy approaching from the north.
  • The pilot was ordered to intercept the bogy and identify it.

Advanced Usage

• "To bogy" (verb, rare/obsolete): To haunt or terrify as a bogy would.
  • The thought of failure bogied him throughout the exam.
• Conceptual use: Used metaphorically to represent a persistent fear or anxiety.
  • The bogy of inflation haunted the economic planners.

Variants and Related Words

• Bogey (noun): A more common alternate spelling with identical meanings. Also used in golf for a score of one over par on a hole.
• Bogie (noun): A different word referring to a wheeled truck or chassis, especially on a railway vehicle. (Note: This is a homophone with a distinct meaning).
• Bogeyman (noun): A specific, often personified, figure of a bogy used to frighten children.

Synonyms

• Evil spirit: Goblin, hobgoblin, specter, phantom.
• Unidentified aircraft: Unidentified flying object (UFO, in a specific context), bandit (if confirmed hostile), bogey (alternate spelling).

Related Phrases

• "Bogy in the closet": A variation of "bogeyman in the closet," meaning an irrational or childhood fear.
  • His fear of public speaking was like a bogy in the closet he needed to confront.

Related Idioms

• "To play bogy": To act as a source of fear or to scare someone (less common).
  • The older children liked to play bogy with the younger ones at camp.

Noun

1. an evil spirit
2. an unidentified (and possibly enemy) aircraft