nimrod
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: nimrods
form: nimwad
Etymology: In most English-speaking countries, Nimrod is used to denote a hunter or warrior, because the biblical Nimrod is described as "a mighty hunter". In American English, however, the term has acquired a derogatory meaning of "idiot"; there are various hypotheses as to why. Most examples suggest an intermediate form where Nimrod is used deliberately to mock a hunter. Whether this usage was widespread, or how it influenced the final meaning where the hunter connotation is unintended, might be beyond reach.
Possible reasons for the shift from "hunter" to "idiot":
One suggestion is that Bugs Bunny's references to Elmer Fudd as a "poor little Nimrod", while most likely using the term's "hunter" sense, contributed to the development of a sense "one who is easily confounded".
An alternative explanation of this sense is that it derives from the John Steinbeck memoir Travels with Charley: In Search of America, in which Steinbeck used the term sarcastically while describing an inquest that was held after a hunter accidentally shot his partner: "The coroner questioning this nimrod..."
The Oxford English Dictionary, in turn, cites a 1933 writing as the first usage of nimrod to refer to a fool, predating Bugs Bunny by at least five years and Steinbeck by nearly thirty: in Hecht and Fowler's Great Magoo, someone remarks "He's in love with her. That makes about the tenth. The same old Nimrod. Won't let her alone for a second." However, this could still have been used in the sense of a hunter (i.e. someone pursuing a love interest).
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary suggests that because the legendary Nimrod was associated with the Tower of Babel, a disastrous idea, nimrod acquired the meaning of "a stupid person."
Another possible source of the sense is the play The Lion of the West by James Paulding. First performed in 1831, it features a comedic characterization of Davy Crockett named Col. Nimrod Wildfire who attempts to woo a young French woman.
Another possibility is that there was an unattested dialectal or slang term for an idiot similar to Australian English ning nong, and that it became conflated with the more respectable term, perhaps as a euphemism.
Senses: examples: text: Don't stick your fingers in the fan, you nimrod!
text: Jules, if you give this nimrod fifteen hundred bucks, I'm gonna shoot 'em on general principle.
ref: 1994, Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary, Pulp Fiction, spoken by Vincent (John Travolta):
text: “I can't keep doing this. Uh, I can't keep pretending to be Mr. Charisma to all these nimrods. It's awful.” “But the Energy Vampire Council said we have to win, or else.” [exhales] “No. No. No. Enough. It ends now.”
ref: 2023 July 27, Max Brockman & Shana Gohd, “The Campaign” (17:54 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows, season 5, episode 4, spoken by Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch):
text: “What is going on here?” “They had a strategy, Ty, which we should have had, which I did have.” “And she was properly wary of Barfus and me.” “What? Why would anyone be wary of you guys?” “Because we're spies, ya nimrod.” “Of course they are.”
ref: 2025 May 11, Monica Padrick, “Don Tyxote” (17:17 from the start), in Krapopolis, season 2, episode 21, spoken by Barfus (T. J. Ramini):
synonyms: word: doofus
word: fathead
word: addle-brain
word: addlehead
word: addle pate
word: airhead
word: baboon
word: beanbrain
word: beetlebrain
word: beetlehead
word: berk
word: bimbo
word: birdbrain
word: blockhead
word: blubberbrain
word: bonehead
word: Boeotian
word: boob
word: bozo
word: brainlet
word: brickhead
word: bubblehead
word: bubble brain
word: bufflehead
word: buffoon
word: Charlie
raw_tags: with "right" and/or "proper"
word: chowderhead
word: chucklehead
word: chump
word: cittern-head
word: clod
word: clodpate
word: clot
word: clown
word: crackhead
word: cretin
word: cuckoo
word: deadhead
word: dimbo
word: dim bulb
word: dimbus
word: dimwit
word: dingbat
word: ding dong
word: dingleberry
word: dingwad
word: dip
word: dipstick
word: doldrum
word: dolt
word: donut
word: doodle
word: doof
word: doofoid
word: doofus
word: dope
word: dork
word: drivel
word: drongo
word: drool bucket
word: dullard
word: dumb bunny
word: dumbbell
word: dumb cluck
word: dumbhead
word: dumble
word: dumbling
word: dumbnut
word: dumbo
word: dummkopf
word: dummy
word: dunce
word: dunderhead
word: dunderpate
word: eejit
word: fathead
word: featherbrain
word: fenderhead
word: fleabrain
word: fool
word: fopdoodle
word: galoot
word: gimboid
word: gomer
word: gonk
word: goober
word: goof
word: goofball
word: goofy
word: goose
word: goosecap
word: gorbuson
word: gudgeon
word: halfwit
word: ha'porth
word: hammerhead
word: idiot
word: ignoramus
word: imbecile
word: inbred
word: jackaninny
word: jellybrain
word: jerk
word: juggins
word: jughead
word: knothead
word: knucklehead
word: lackwit
word: lamebrain
word: log
word: loggerhead
word: lummox
word: lunk
word: lunkhead
word: maroon
word: meatball
word: meathead
word: mental midget
word: mome
word: momo
word: mongoloid
word: mongtard
word: monkey
word: moron
word: mouth breather
word: muggins
word: mushhead
word: muttonhead
word: mutt
word: nimrod
word: nincompoop
word: ninny
word: ninnyhammer
word: nit
word: nitwit
word: noddy
word: noodlehead
word: numbskull
word: oaf
word: peabrain
word: peagoose
word: pillock
word: pigwidgeon
word: pinhead
word: plank
word: plonker
word: prat
word: put
word: putz
word: retard
word: sap
word: saphead
word: schmo
word: silly
word: simp
word: simpleton
word: snapperhead
word: sot
word: space cadet
word: spanner
word: stupe
word: stupid
word: stupid-head
word: tomfool
word: tard
word: thickhead
word: thickskull
word: thicko
word: tonto
word: toolbox
word: tosspot
word: turkey
word: twit
word: wally
word: wantwit
word: wazzer
word: wazzock
word: witless wonder
word: yo-yo
word: zany
word: Vulgar:
word: ass
word: assclown
word: asshat
word: asshead
word: asstard
word: asswipe
word: buttbreath
word: dildo
word: dipshit
word: donkey dick
word: Alternative spelling of dumbass.
word: dumbfuck
word: dumbfucker
word: dumbshit
word: farthead
word: fuck-knuckle
word: fucktard
word: fuckwit
word: jackass
word: peckerhead
word: shitbrain
word: shithead
word: shitneck
word: shitwit
word: twat
glosses: A foolish person; an idiot.