buzzardn.1
/ˈbʌzəd/, U.S. /ˈbəzərd/ 1.
a. Name for the genus Buteo of birds of the falcon family, esp. B. vulgaris. Applied also, with defining words, to other birds belonging to the Falconidæ: as bald buzzard n. the Osprey, Pandion haliaëtus. moor buzzard n. Circus æruginosus.honey buzzard: see first element.The buzzard was an inferior kind of hawk, useless for falconry; hence apparently sense 2a. Cf. French buse buzzard, also ‘sot, ignorant, stupide’, Boiste; ‘imbecille’ Littré. (The chronology appears to make it impossible to connect this sense with the next word.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Falconiformes (falcons, etc.) > family Accipitridae (hawks, etc.) > [noun] > genus Buteo (buzzard)
pittelOE
puttockc1175
buzzardc1300
esalon1572
boyter1578
c1300 K. Alis. 3049 Nultou never..No faucon mak of busard, No hardy knyght mak of coward.
c1400 Rom. Rose 4033 Man may for no dauntyng Make a sperhauke of a bosarde.
1486 Bk. St. Albans B ij An hauke that is broght vp vnder a Bussard or a Puttocke.
1533 Act 25 Hen. VIII xi. §6 Crowes, choughes, rauons, and bosardes.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III i. i. 134 That the Eagle should be mewed, While keihts and bussards prey at liberty. View more context for this quotation
1616 G. Markham tr. C. Estienne et al. Maison Rustique (rev. ed.) vii. xliv. 715 The short winged hawkes are, etc...some intrude the Bauld Buzzard.
a1734 R. North Examen (1740) iii. viii. ⁋70. 638 An Historian and a Libeller are as different as Hawk and Buzzard.
1778 G. White Let. 7 Aug. in Nat. Hist. Selborne (1789) 237 Kites and buzzards sail round in circles.
1839 W. B. Stonehouse Hist. Isle of Axholme 66 The moor buzzard still frequents the waste which surrounds Lindholme.
b. between hawk and buzzard: (see quot. 1662).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > mediocrity > [phrase]
between hawk and buzzard1637
among the middlings1885
nothing to write home about1914
1637 Abp. J. Williams Holy Table 226 [To] awake him thus between Hawk and Buzzard.
1662 Janua Ling. §146 Between hawk and buzzard, means between a good thing and a bad of the same kind: the hawk being the true sporting bird, the buzzard a heavy lazy fowl of the same species.
1775 N. Cresswell Jrnl. (1924) 147 We are between Hawk and Buzzard.
1813 J. K. Paulding Diverting Hist. John Bull & Brother Jonathan (1835) xix. 87 He..was between hawk and buzzard, as they say.
1832 J. P. Kennedy Swallow Barn (1860) 17 I entered Richmond between hawk and buzzard [= at twilight].
1894 E. C. Brewer Dict. Phrase & Fable (1895) 193 Between hawk and buzzard. Not quite a lady or gentleman, nor quite a servant. Applied to tutors in private houses [etc.].
1904 Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) 12 July 4 The intelligence of the Commonwealth found itself literally between hawk and buzzard. It hovered in the balance.
c. U.S. A species of vulture more fully called turkey-buzzard.
ΚΠ
1851 M. Reid Scalp Hunters II. viii. 119 'Twur turkey-buzzart then—that's what it wur.
1851 M. Reid Scalp Hunters II. viii. 120 And when did ye eat the buzzard, old boy?
1871 S. de Vere Americanisms (1872) 373 Similar confusion prevails here about the name of Buzzard, which is commonly misapplied, being given to a vulture instead of a hawk.
1876 J. Burroughs Winter Sunshine (1892) i. 16 But the worst thing about the buzzard is his silence.
2.
a. figurative. A worthless, stupid, or ignorant person. Often with the adjective blind; also used euphemistically = bastard n. 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > stupid person, dolt, blockhead > [noun]
asseOE
sotc1000
beastc1225
long-ear?a1300
stock1303
buzzard1377
mis-feelinga1382
dasarta1400
stonea1400
dasiberd14..
dottlec1400
doddypoll1401
dastardc1440
dotterel1440
dullardc1440
wantwit1449
jobardc1475
nollc1475
assheada1500
mulea1500
dull-pate15..
peak1509
dulbert?a1513
doddy-patec1525
noddypolla1529
hammer-head1532
dull-head?1534
capon1542
dolt1543
blockhead1549
cod's head1549
mome1550
grout-head1551
gander1553
skit-brains?1553
blocka1556
calfa1556
tomfool1565
dunce1567
druggard1569
cobble1570
dummel1570
Essex calf1573
jolthead1573
hardhead1576
beetle-head1577
dor-head1577
groutnoll1578
grosshead1580
thickskin1582
noddyship?1589
jobbernowl1592
beetle-brain1593
Dorbel1593
oatmeal-groat1594
loggerhead1595
block-pate1598
cittern-head1598
noddypoop1598
dorbellist1599
numps1599
dor1601
stump1602
ram-head1605
look-like-a-goose1606
ruff1606
clod1607
turf1607
asinego1609
clot-poll1609
doddiea1611
druggle1611
duncecomb1612
ox-head1613
clod-polla1616
dulman1615
jolterhead1620
bullhead1624
dunderwhelpa1625
dunderhead1630
macaroona1631
clod-patea1635
clota1637
dildo1638
clot-pate1640
stupid1640
clod-head1644
stub1644
simpletonian1652
bottle-head1654
Bœotiana1657
vappe1657
lackwit1668
cudden1673
plant-animal1673
dolt-head1679
cabbage head1682
put1688
a piece of wood1691
ouphe1694
dunderpate1697
numbskull1697
leather-head1699
nocky1699
Tom Cony1699
mopus1700
bluff-head1703
clod skull1707
dunny1709
dowf1722
stupe1722
gamphrel1729
gobbin?1746
duncehead1749
half-wit1755
thick-skull1755
jackass1756
woollen-head1756
numbhead1757
beef-head1775
granny1776
stupid-head1792
stunpolla1794
timber-head1794
wether heada1796
dummy1796
noghead1800
staumrel1802
muttonhead1803
num1807
dummkopf1809
tumphya1813
cod's head and shoulders1820
stoopid1823
thick-head1824
gype1825
stob1825
stookiea1828
woodenhead1831
ning-nong1832
log-head1834
fat-head1835
dunderheadism1836
turnip1837
mudhead1838
donkey1840
stupex1843
cabbage1844
morepork1845
lubber-head1847
slowpoke1847
stupiditarian1850
pudding-head1851
cod's head and shoulders1852
putty head1853
moke1855
mullet-head1855
pothead1855
mug1857
thick1857
boodle1862
meathead1863
missing link1863
half-baked1866
lunk1867
turnip-head1869
rummy1872
pumpkin-head1876
tattie1879
chump1883
dully1883
cretin1884
lunkhead1884
mopstick1886
dumbhead1887
peanut head1891
pie-face1891
doughbakea1895
butt-head1896
pinhead1896
cheesehead1900
nyamps1900
box head1902
bonehead1903
chickenhead1903
thickwit1904
cluck1906
boob1907
John1908
mooch1910
nitwit1910
dikkop1913
goop1914
goofus1916
rumdum1916
bone dome1917
moron1917
oik1917
jabroni1919
dumb-bell1920
knob1920
goon1921
dimwit1922
ivory dome1923
stone jug1923
dingleberry1924
gimp1924
bird brain1926
jughead1926
cloth-head1927
dumb1928
gazook1928
mouldwarp1928
ding-dong1929
stupido1929
mook1930
sparrow-brain1930
knobhead1931
dip1932
drip1932
epsilon1932
bohunkus1933
Nimrod1933
dumbass1934
zombie1936
pea-brain1938
knot-head1940
schlump1941
jarhead1942
Joe Soap1943
knuckle-head1944
nong1944
lame-brain1945
gobshite1946
rock-head1947
potato head1948
jerko1949
turkey1951
momo1953
poop-head1955
a right one1958
bam1959
nong-nong1959
dickhead1960
dumbo1960
Herbert1960
lamer1961
bampot1962
dipshit1963
bamstick1965
doofus1965
dick1966
pillock1967
zipperhead1967
dipstick1968
thickie1968
poephol1969
yo-yo1970
doof1971
cockhead1972
nully1973
thicko1976
wazzock1976
motorhead1979
mouth-breather1979
no-brainer1979
jerkwad1980
woodentop1981
dickwad1983
dough ball1983
dickweed1984
bawheid1985
numpty1985
jerkweed1988
dick-sucker1989
knob-end1989
Muppet1989
dingus1997
dicksack1999
eight ball-
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > [noun] > person
unwiteOE
buzzard1377
idiotc1384
ignorantc1450
unscholar1545
idiota1566
borowe1579
simple1600
ignoramus1616
ignoramo1623
ignaro1634
ingram1638
know-little1651
lack-latina1657
idiotist1715
know-nothing1812
Oscar1918
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. x. 266 I rede eche a blynde bosarde do bote to hym-selue.
1401 in T. Wright Polit. Poems & Songs (1859) II. 98 Thou blundyrst As a blynde buserde.
1549 H. Latimer 1st Serm. before Kynges Grace sig. Cvii Wo worth such consellers, bishops, nay rather busserdes.
a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) ii. f. 43 Those blind bussardes, who..would neyther learne themselues, nor could teach others.
1652 T. Gataker Antinomianism 31 A company of..blind blundering bussards.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth V. 130 It is common to a proverb to call one who cannot be taught, or continues obstinately ignorant, a buzzard.
1807 Salmagundi 20 Mar. 122 That unlucky passage of Shakspeare which..has..puzzled..many a somniferous buzzard.
1822 W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel I. ii. 52
1889 A. Barrère & C. G. Leland Dict. Slang Buzzard (American), an oppressive, arrogant person, jealous of rivalry, and vindictive.
1918 C. E. Mulford Man from Bar-20 viii. 77 ‘Pop’, he said, sharply, ‘who is this buzzard?’
1918 C. E. Mulford Man from Bar-20 xi. 108 You two buzzards are about as cheerful an' pleasant as a rattler in August.
1939 A. Huxley After Many a Summer i. v. 57 Not that he was doing anything spectacular with the old buzzard at the moment.
1960 J. Wain Nuncle 163 I could never have accused the old buzzard of caring excessively for me as a person.
b. Applied to things: (see quot. 1871). U.S.
ΚΠ
1871 Lancaster Intelligencer 6 May (De Vere) Said the venerable Mr. G. to one of his jours: Sir, I pronounce that job an unmitigated buzzard.
1871 S. de Vere Americanisms (1872) 587 Buzzard is the half-facetious half-contemptuous term applied in several mechanical professions to a badly-spoiled piece of work.
Compounds
C1. attributive or as adj.
a. Of a buzzard; resembling a buzzard's…
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Falconiformes (falcons, etc.) > family Accipitridae (hawks, etc.) > [adjective] > of or resembling a buzzard
buteonine1837
buzzard1875
1875 Ld. Tennyson Queen Mary i. iv. 34 His buzzard beak and deep-incavern'd eyes Half fright me.
b. Senseless, stupid, ‘blind’.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupidity, dullness of intellect > [adjective]
sloweOE
stuntc960
dullOE
hardOE
stuntlyc1000
sotc1050
dillc1175
dulta1225
simplea1325
heavy1340
astonedc1374
sheepishc1380
dull-witteda1387
lourd1390
steerishc1411
ass-likea1425
brainless?a1439
deafc1440
sluggishc1450
short-witted1477
obtuse1509
peakish1519
wearish1519
deaf, or dumb as a beetle1520
doileda1522
gross1526
headlessa1530
stulty1532
ass-headed1533
pot-headed1533
stupid?1541
sheep's head1542
doltish1543
dumpish1545
assish1548
blockish1548
slow-witted1548
blockheaded1549
surd1551
dull-headed1552
hammer-headed1552
skit-brained?1553
buzzardly1561
witless1562
log-headeda1566
assy1566
sottish1566
dastardly1567
stupidious1567
beetle-headed1570
calvish1570
bluntish1578
cod's-headed1578
grout-headed1578
bedaft1579
dull-pated1580
blate1581
buzzard-like1581
long-eared1582
dullard1583
woodena1586
duncical1588
leaden-headed1589
buzzard1592
dorbellical1592
dunstical1592
heavy-headeda1593
shallow-brained1592
blunt-witted1594
mossy1597
Bœotian1598
clay-brained1598
fat1598
fat-witted1598
knotty-pated1598
stupidous1598
wit-lost1599
barren1600
duncifiedc1600
lourdish1600
stockish1600
thick1600
booby1603
leaden-pated1603
partless1603
thin-headed1603
leaden-skulledc1604
blockhead1606
frost-brained1606
ram-headed1608
beef-witted1609
insulse1609
leaden-spirited1609
asininec1610
clumse1611
blockheadly1612
wattle-headed1613
flata1616
logger-headeda1616
puppy-headeda1616
shallow-patedc1616
thick-brained1619
half-headed1621
buzzard-blinda1625
beef-brained1628
toom-headed1629
thick-witted1634
woollen-witted1635
squirrel-headed1637
clod-pated1639
lean-souled1639
muddy-headed1642
leaden-witteda1645
as sad as any mallet1645
under-headed1646
fat-headed1647
half-witted1647
insipid1651
insulsate1652
soft-headed1653
thick-skulleda1657
muddish1658
non-intelligent1659
whey-brained1660
sap-headed1665
timber-headed1666
leather-headeda1668
out of (one's) tree1669
boobily1673
thoughtless1673
lourdly1674
logger1675
unintelligenta1676
Bœotic1678
chicken-brained1678
under-witted1683
loggerhead1684
dunderheaded1692
unintelligible1694
buffle-headed1697
crassicc1700
numbskulled1707
crassous1708
doddy-polled1708
haggis-headed1715
niddy-noddy1722
muzzy1723
pudding-headed1726
sumphish1728
pitcher-souleda1739
duncey1743
hebete1743
chuckheaded1756
dumb1756
duncely1757
imbecile1766
mutton-headed1768
chuckle-headed1770
jobbernowl1770
dowfarta1774
boobyish1778
wittol1780
staumrel1787
opaquec1789
stoopid1791
mud-headed1793
borné1795
muzzy-headed1798
nog-headed1800
thick-headed1801
gypit1804
duncish1805
lightweight1809
numbskull1814
tup-headed1816
chuckle-pate1820
unintellectuala1821
dense1822
ninnyish1822
dunch1825
fozy1825
potato-headed1826
beef-headed1828
donkeyish1831
blockheadish1833
pinheaded1837
squirrel-minded1837
pumpkin-headed1838
tomfoolish1838
dundering1840
chicken-headed1842
like a bump on a log1842
ninny-minded1849
numbheadeda1852
nincompoopish1852
suet-brained1852
dolly1853
mullet-headed1853
sodden1853
fiddle-headed1854
numb1854
bovine1855
logy1859
crass1861
unsmart1861
off his chump1864
wooden-headed1865
stupe1866
lean-minded1867
duffing1869
cretinous1871
doddering1871
thick-head1873
doddling1874
stupido1879
boneheaded1883
woolly-headed1883
leaden-natured1889
suet-headed1890
sam-sodden1891
dopey1896
turnip-headed1898
bonehead1903
wool-witted1905
peanut-headed1906
peanut-brained1907
dilly1909
torpid-minded1909
retardate1912
nitwitted1917
meat-headed1918
mug1922
cloth-headed1925
loopy1925
nitwit1928
lame-brained1929
dead from the neck up1930
simpy1932
nail-headed1936
square-headed1936
dingbats1937
pinhead1939
dim-witted1940
pea-brained1942
clueless1943
lobotomized1943
retarded1949
pointy-headed1950
clottish1952
like a stunned mullet1953
silly (or crazy) as a two-bob watch1954
out to lunch1955
pin-brained1958
dozy1959
eejity1964
out of one's tiny mind1965
doofus1967
twitty1967
twittish1969
twatty1975
twattish1976
blur1977
dof1979
goofus1981
dickheaded1991
dickish1991
numpty1992
cockish1996
1592 H. Constable Poems (1859) v. 34 Lowe on the ground with buzzard Cupids wings.
1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης i. 13 A Buzzard Idol.
1844 T. Carlyle Crit. & Misc. Ess. (1857) IV. 314 Ignorance and buzzard stupidity.
C2.
buzzard-blind adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupidity, dullness of intellect > [adjective]
sloweOE
stuntc960
dullOE
hardOE
stuntlyc1000
sotc1050
dillc1175
dulta1225
simplea1325
heavy1340
astonedc1374
sheepishc1380
dull-witteda1387
lourd1390
steerishc1411
ass-likea1425
brainless?a1439
deafc1440
sluggishc1450
short-witted1477
obtuse1509
peakish1519
wearish1519
deaf, or dumb as a beetle1520
doileda1522
gross1526
headlessa1530
stulty1532
ass-headed1533
pot-headed1533
stupid?1541
sheep's head1542
doltish1543
dumpish1545
assish1548
blockish1548
slow-witted1548
blockheaded1549
surd1551
dull-headed1552
hammer-headed1552
skit-brained?1553
buzzardly1561
witless1562
log-headeda1566
assy1566
sottish1566
dastardly1567
stupidious1567
beetle-headed1570
calvish1570
bluntish1578
cod's-headed1578
grout-headed1578
bedaft1579
dull-pated1580
blate1581
buzzard-like1581
long-eared1582
dullard1583
woodena1586
duncical1588
leaden-headed1589
buzzard1592
dorbellical1592
dunstical1592
heavy-headeda1593
shallow-brained1592
blunt-witted1594
mossy1597
Bœotian1598
clay-brained1598
fat1598
fat-witted1598
knotty-pated1598
stupidous1598
wit-lost1599
barren1600
duncifiedc1600
lourdish1600
stockish1600
thick1600
booby1603
leaden-pated1603
partless1603
thin-headed1603
leaden-skulledc1604
blockhead1606
frost-brained1606
ram-headed1608
beef-witted1609
insulse1609
leaden-spirited1609
asininec1610
clumse1611
blockheadly1612
wattle-headed1613
flata1616
logger-headeda1616
puppy-headeda1616
shallow-patedc1616
thick-brained1619
half-headed1621
buzzard-blinda1625
beef-brained1628
toom-headed1629
thick-witted1634
woollen-witted1635
squirrel-headed1637
clod-pated1639
lean-souled1639
muddy-headed1642
leaden-witteda1645
as sad as any mallet1645
under-headed1646
fat-headed1647
half-witted1647
insipid1651
insulsate1652
soft-headed1653
thick-skulleda1657
muddish1658
non-intelligent1659
whey-brained1660
sap-headed1665
timber-headed1666
leather-headeda1668
out of (one's) tree1669
boobily1673
thoughtless1673
lourdly1674
logger1675
unintelligenta1676
Bœotic1678
chicken-brained1678
under-witted1683
loggerhead1684
dunderheaded1692
unintelligible1694
buffle-headed1697
crassicc1700
numbskulled1707
crassous1708
doddy-polled1708
haggis-headed1715
niddy-noddy1722
muzzy1723
pudding-headed1726
sumphish1728
pitcher-souleda1739
duncey1743
hebete1743
chuckheaded1756
dumb1756
duncely1757
imbecile1766
mutton-headed1768
chuckle-headed1770
jobbernowl1770
dowfarta1774
boobyish1778
wittol1780
staumrel1787
opaquec1789
stoopid1791
mud-headed1793
borné1795
muzzy-headed1798
nog-headed1800
thick-headed1801
gypit1804
duncish1805
lightweight1809
numbskull1814
tup-headed1816
chuckle-pate1820
unintellectuala1821
dense1822
ninnyish1822
dunch1825
fozy1825
potato-headed1826
beef-headed1828
donkeyish1831
blockheadish1833
pinheaded1837
squirrel-minded1837
pumpkin-headed1838
tomfoolish1838
dundering1840
chicken-headed1842
like a bump on a log1842
ninny-minded1849
numbheadeda1852
nincompoopish1852
suet-brained1852
dolly1853
mullet-headed1853
sodden1853
fiddle-headed1854
numb1854
bovine1855
logy1859
crass1861
unsmart1861
off his chump1864
wooden-headed1865
stupe1866
lean-minded1867
duffing1869
cretinous1871
doddering1871
thick-head1873
doddling1874
stupido1879
boneheaded1883
woolly-headed1883
leaden-natured1889
suet-headed1890
sam-sodden1891
dopey1896
turnip-headed1898
bonehead1903
wool-witted1905
peanut-headed1906
peanut-brained1907
dilly1909
torpid-minded1909
retardate1912
nitwitted1917
meat-headed1918
mug1922
cloth-headed1925
loopy1925
nitwit1928
lame-brained1929
dead from the neck up1930
simpy1932
nail-headed1936
square-headed1936
dingbats1937
pinhead1939
dim-witted1940
pea-brained1942
clueless1943
lobotomized1943
retarded1949
pointy-headed1950
clottish1952
like a stunned mullet1953
silly (or crazy) as a two-bob watch1954
out to lunch1955
pin-brained1958
dozy1959
eejity1964
out of one's tiny mind1965
doofus1967
twitty1967
twittish1969
twatty1975
twattish1976
blur1977
dof1979
goofus1981
dickheaded1991
dickish1991
numpty1992
cockish1996
a1625 J. Fletcher Monsieur Thomas (1639) iii. i. sig. G3 Do not anger me, For by this hand Ile beate the buzard blind then.
C3.
buzzard dollar n. U.S. slang the silver dollar coined under the Bland bill of 1878, so called from having the figure of an eagle on the reverse.
ΚΠ
a1889 Chicago Tribune (Barrère & Leland) The waiters..will take anything you give them, from a nickel up to a buzzard dollar, and look happy.
buzzard lope n. U.S. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1890 Standard 24 Apr. Buzzard Lope—‘the latest social institution of America..a dance taught to a Georgian negro by the turkey buzzard’.
Derivatives
buzzard-like adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupidity, dullness of intellect > [adjective]
sloweOE
stuntc960
dullOE
hardOE
stuntlyc1000
sotc1050
dillc1175
dulta1225
simplea1325
heavy1340
astonedc1374
sheepishc1380
dull-witteda1387
lourd1390
steerishc1411
ass-likea1425
brainless?a1439
deafc1440
sluggishc1450
short-witted1477
obtuse1509
peakish1519
wearish1519
deaf, or dumb as a beetle1520
doileda1522
gross1526
headlessa1530
stulty1532
ass-headed1533
pot-headed1533
stupid?1541
sheep's head1542
doltish1543
dumpish1545
assish1548
blockish1548
slow-witted1548
blockheaded1549
surd1551
dull-headed1552
hammer-headed1552
skit-brained?1553
buzzardly1561
witless1562
log-headeda1566
assy1566
sottish1566
dastardly1567
stupidious1567
beetle-headed1570
calvish1570
bluntish1578
cod's-headed1578
grout-headed1578
bedaft1579
dull-pated1580
blate1581
buzzard-like1581
long-eared1582
dullard1583
woodena1586
duncical1588
leaden-headed1589
buzzard1592
dorbellical1592
dunstical1592
heavy-headeda1593
shallow-brained1592
blunt-witted1594
mossy1597
Bœotian1598
clay-brained1598
fat1598
fat-witted1598
knotty-pated1598
stupidous1598
wit-lost1599
barren1600
duncifiedc1600
lourdish1600
stockish1600
thick1600
booby1603
leaden-pated1603
partless1603
thin-headed1603
leaden-skulledc1604
blockhead1606
frost-brained1606
ram-headed1608
beef-witted1609
insulse1609
leaden-spirited1609
asininec1610
clumse1611
blockheadly1612
wattle-headed1613
flata1616
logger-headeda1616
puppy-headeda1616
shallow-patedc1616
thick-brained1619
half-headed1621
buzzard-blinda1625
beef-brained1628
toom-headed1629
thick-witted1634
woollen-witted1635
squirrel-headed1637
clod-pated1639
lean-souled1639
muddy-headed1642
leaden-witteda1645
as sad as any mallet1645
under-headed1646
fat-headed1647
half-witted1647
insipid1651
insulsate1652
soft-headed1653
thick-skulleda1657
muddish1658
non-intelligent1659
whey-brained1660
sap-headed1665
timber-headed1666
leather-headeda1668
out of (one's) tree1669
boobily1673
thoughtless1673
lourdly1674
logger1675
unintelligenta1676
Bœotic1678
chicken-brained1678
under-witted1683
loggerhead1684
dunderheaded1692
unintelligible1694
buffle-headed1697
crassicc1700
numbskulled1707
crassous1708
doddy-polled1708
haggis-headed1715
niddy-noddy1722
muzzy1723
pudding-headed1726
sumphish1728
pitcher-souleda1739
duncey1743
hebete1743
chuckheaded1756
dumb1756
duncely1757
imbecile1766
mutton-headed1768
chuckle-headed1770
jobbernowl1770
dowfarta1774
boobyish1778
wittol1780
staumrel1787
opaquec1789
stoopid1791
mud-headed1793
borné1795
muzzy-headed1798
nog-headed1800
thick-headed1801
gypit1804
duncish1805
lightweight1809
numbskull1814
tup-headed1816
chuckle-pate1820
unintellectuala1821
dense1822
ninnyish1822
dunch1825
fozy1825
potato-headed1826
beef-headed1828
donkeyish1831
blockheadish1833
pinheaded1837
squirrel-minded1837
pumpkin-headed1838
tomfoolish1838
dundering1840
chicken-headed1842
like a bump on a log1842
ninny-minded1849
numbheadeda1852
nincompoopish1852
suet-brained1852
dolly1853
mullet-headed1853
sodden1853
fiddle-headed1854
numb1854
bovine1855
logy1859
crass1861
unsmart1861
off his chump1864
wooden-headed1865
stupe1866
lean-minded1867
duffing1869
cretinous1871
doddering1871
thick-head1873
doddling1874
stupido1879
boneheaded1883
woolly-headed1883
leaden-natured1889
suet-headed1890
sam-sodden1891
dopey1896
turnip-headed1898
bonehead1903
wool-witted1905
peanut-headed1906
peanut-brained1907
dilly1909
torpid-minded1909
retardate1912
nitwitted1917
meat-headed1918
mug1922
cloth-headed1925
loopy1925
nitwit1928
lame-brained1929
dead from the neck up1930
simpy1932
nail-headed1936
square-headed1936
dingbats1937
pinhead1939
dim-witted1940
pea-brained1942
clueless1943
lobotomized1943
retarded1949
pointy-headed1950
clottish1952
like a stunned mullet1953
silly (or crazy) as a two-bob watch1954
out to lunch1955
pin-brained1958
dozy1959
eejity1964
out of one's tiny mind1965
doofus1967
twitty1967
twittish1969
twatty1975
twattish1976
blur1977
dof1979
goofus1981
dickheaded1991
dickish1991
numpty1992
cockish1996
1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius 179 Compare with this blynd Philosophy of Cicero, the Divinitie of Osorius in all respectes as bussardlyke.
1590 C. S. Briefe Resol. Right Relig. 9 Is anie man so buzzardlike, or so blockishly blind?
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1888; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
buzzardn.2
dialect.
1. A name applied to various insects that fly by night, e.g. large moths and cockchafers. (Undoubted instances of its use in earlier times are wanting. Cf. buzzer n.1) [Cf. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew ii. i. 206, where there is perhaps a play on this sense. Also, the following among other passages:]
1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iv. iii. 188 O Owle! hast thou only kept company with Bats, Buzzards, Beetles, in this long retirement in the Desert.
ΚΠ
1825 T. Hood Ode to Graham They are wise that choose the near, A few small buzzards in the ear, To organs ages hence.
1875 J. H. Nodal & G. Milner Gloss. Lancs. Dial.: Pt. I 64 He's olez after buzzerts and things.
2. = buzzer n.1 3.
ΚΠ
1878 A. B. Grosart in H. More Compl. Poems Index 211/1 The steam~whistle for calling the mill-operatives to work is named ‘buzzard’ in Lancashire (Blackburn).
Compounds
buzzard-clock n. a cockchafer.
ΚΠ
1864 Ld. Tennyson Northern Farmer: Old Style v, in Enoch Arden, etc. 130 An' [I] 'eerd un a bummin' awaäy loike a buzzard-clock ower my yeäd.
1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. Buzzard-clock, a kind of beetle; a cockchafer.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1888; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
† buzzardv.
Obsolete.
? To make a ‘buzzard’ of, puzzle completely, nonplus.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > perplexity, bewilderment > act of perplexing > confuse, perplex, bewilder [verb (transitive)] > nonplus
stagger1556
gravel1566
set1577
trump1586
bumbaze1587
puzzlec1595
ground1597
stunt1603
nonplus1605
pose1605
stumble1605
buzzard1624
quandary1681
bamboozle1712
hobble1762
stump1807
have1816
floor1830
flummox1837
stick1851
get1868
to stick up1897
buffalo1903
1624 R. Montagu Immediate Addresse 185 Baronius is plainely buzzarded in the point, and wisely concealing that which hee could not reconcile, passeth it ouer as in a dreame.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1888; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
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n.1c1300
n.21825
v.1624