noddy

American  

[nod-ee] / ˈnɒd i /

noun

plural

noddies

1. any of several dark-bodied terns of the genera Anous and Micranous found about the coasts and islands in warm seas of both the New and Old Worlds, often so tame as to seem stupid.

2. a fool or simpleton; noodle.

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noddy ¹ British  

/ ˈnɒdɪ /

noun

1. any of several tropical terns of the genus Anous, esp A. stolidus ( common noddy ), typically having a dark plumage

2. a fool or dunce

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noddy ² British  

/ ˈnɒdɪ /

noun

1. (usually plural) television film footage of an interviewer's reactions to comments made by an interviewee, used in editing the interview after it has been recorded

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noddy ³ British  

/ ˈnɒdɪ /

adjective

1. informal very easy to use or understand; simplistic

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Etymology

Origin of noddy

1520–30; perhaps noun use of obsolete noddy (adj.) silly. See nod, -y ¹

Example Sentences

He captured this lesser noddy caught in a collosal spider's net on the Seychelles island.

From BBC • Oct. 16, 2013

We saw bonito tuna in schools jumping while noddy terns dove into the water.

From New York Times • Sep. 23, 2011

The horses of the noddy, feeling no restraint from the reins, and terrified by the uproar, kicked up their heels at once, and bolted away, shooting the driver out of his den into a flowerpot.

From Sir Jasper Carew His Life and Experience by Lever, Charles James

The noddy jigged along; the trees went by, looking on silently, as if they had something on their minds.

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson Swanston Edition Vol. 6 (of 25) by Stevenson, Robert Louis

Upon turning into Dame Street from the quay, behold! another woman, of churlish breeding, showy and pink and plump, sitting in a noddy, conversing with a friend.

From My Lords of Strogue, Vol. I (of III) A Chronicle of Ireland, from the Convention to the Union by Wingfield, Lewis