Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word noddy. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word noddy, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say noddy in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word noddy you have here. The definition of the word noddy will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofnoddy, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Hum. If it be so, my friend, you use me fine, What do you thinke I am? Iasp. An arrant noddie Hum. A word of obliquie, now by Gods bodie, I'le tell thy maister for I know thee well.
Leo Decimus made soft fellowes, starke noddies; and such as wee foolish, quite mad before hee left them.
1679, Roger L’Estrange, Answer to the Appeal from the Country to the City, London: Henry Brome, page 25:
Were not Those blessed days when our Divines had Salesmen, and Mechaniques for their Tryers; and the Laity a supercilious Company of Classical, and Congregational Noddys for the Inspectours of our Lives and Manners[…]
1795, Hannah Cowley, The Town Before You, A Comedy, London: T.N. Longman, act V, page 84:
Why, what a noddy have I been, to take this strapper always for a girl!
1842, Robert Browning, “The Pied Piper of Hamelin”, in Cavalier Tunes, The Lost Leader and Other Poems, Boston: Educational Publishing Company, published 1906, Stanza III, lines 21-23, p. 21:
At last the people in a body To the Town Hall came flocking; “’Tis clear,” cried they, “our Mayor’s a noddy; […]”
1703, William Dampier, A Voyage to New Holland, volume 3, London: James Knapton, page 142:
We saw no Land this day, but saw a great many Snakes and some Whales. We saw also some Boobies, and Noddy-birds; and in the night caught one of these last. […] The Top or Crown of the Head of this Noddy was Coal-black, having also small black streaks round about and close to the Eyes; and round these streaks on each side, a pretty broad white circle. The Breast, Belly, and under-part of the Wings of this Noddy were white: and the Back and upper-part of its Wings of a faint black or smoak Colour.
The Rocks and outer Lines of the Island, are the Haunts of variety of Sea-Birds, especially Boobies and Noddies[…]. The Noddies are smaller and flat footed also.
At noon ſome noddies came ſo near to us, that one of them was caught by hand. This bird was about the ſize of a ſmall pigeon. I divided it, with its entrails, into 18 portions, and by a well-known method at ſea, of, Who ſhall have this? it was diſtributed, with the allowance of bread and water for dinner, and eat up bones and all, with ſalt water for ſauce.
We found on St. Paul’s only two kinds of birds—the booby and the noddy. The former is a species of gannet, and the latter a tern. Both are of a tame and stupid disposition, and are so unaccustomed to visitors, that I could have killed any number of them with my geological hammer.
A cloud of sea birds hovered overhead, the gannets diving with folded wings, while the black noddy-terns fluttered down in companies each time the fish drove the small fry to the surface.
1783, Charles Macklin, The True-Born Irishman: or, Irish Fine Lady, Dublin, act I, page 8:
Coun. What do you mean by a new language? O’Dogh. Why a new kind of a London English, that’s no more like our Irish English, than a coxcomb’ fine gilded chariot like a Glassmanoguenoddy.
1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard:
'By Jove, I think one of us must go into town. […]' 'Let's see Nutter—you or I must go—we'll take one of these songster's "noddies."'
An invertedpendulum consisting of a short vertical flat spring which supports a rod having a bob at the top; used for detecting and measuring slight horizontal vibrations of a body to which it is attached.
1616, Ben Jonson, “Love Restored”, in The Works of Ben Jonson, London: H. Herringman et al., published 1692, page 371:
Let ’hem embrace more frugal pastimes. Why should not the thrifty and right worshipful game of Post and Pair content ’hem? Or the witty invention of Noddie, for counters? or God make them rich, at the Tables? but Masking, and Revelling?
1847, James Orchard Halliwell, Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, volume 2, London: John Russell Smith, page 579:
NODDY. An old game of cards conjectured to be the same as cribbage.
