bobolee

plural bobolees

1. lifestyleAn effigy of Judas Iscariot that is attacked as part of the Good Friday celebration in Trinidad.

   Elias, dem police beat mih like if ah was a Good Friday bobolee.

   1992, Michael R. Als, No Half a Loaf, page 30

   3 more examples

   Good Fridays were unremarkable except for the hot-cross buns that Aunty Sue used to bake, and the drive to Point Fortin to look for Good Friday bobolees.

   2000, Jennifer Franco, When the Ti-Marie closes, page 74

   “Bobolee” bands were popular around the 1860s and were ensembles of men and women from the poorer neighborhoods of Port of Spain. On Good Friday and during Carnival, they beat tin pans chanting, “Beat the bobolee! Beat the bobolee!

   2012, Angela Smith, Steel Drums and Steelbands: A History, page 36

   Eric wanted to know if Christmas was the time when people made a bobolee.

   2014, Cecil Gray, “A Gift For Eric”, in Cecil Gray, editor, Perspectives: A Course in Narrative Comprehension and Composition for Caribbean Secondary Schools, page 63

2. slangOne who is easily deceived or taken advantage of.