Boo Radley
Boo Radley is a reclusive character in Harper Lee's *To Kill a Mockingbird*, a neighbor who never leaves his house and becomes the subject of childhood myths and fear.
The name has become shorthand for a mysterious shut-in or someone unjustly feared due to misunderstanding: He's the Boo Radley of our neighborhood—no one's seen him in years.
- mockingbirdSound-copying songbird
- recluseOne choosing isolation
- scoutOne who reconnoiters
- JemAlternate gem spelling
- AtticusLatin name meaning Athenian
To Kill a Mockingbird · Harper Lee · Maycomb · good neighbor · neighbor · mystery · gifts · tree hollow · knothole · blanket · shadows · porch · Alabama · small town · Southern Gothic · innocence · misunderstood · gentle
- literary charactersSherlock Holmes, Scout Finch, Elizabeth Bennet, Macbeth, Huck Finn
- Fictional GhostsCasper, Slimer, Moaning Myrtle, Nearly Headless Nick, Jacob Marley
- TV NeighborsNed Flanders, Wilson, Kramer, Squidward, Patrick Star
Boo Radleysocialite
Prominent figure in fashionable circles
extrovert · public figure · town gossip · celebrity · social butterfly
Boo Radleywolf in sheep's clothing
Concealed threat appearing innocent
Dolores Umbridge · Iago · Tom Buchanan · Nurse Ratched · con man