saphead

[sap-hed]

noun

Slang.

1. a simpleton; fool.

saphead

¹

/ ˈsæpˌhɛd /

noun

1. slang,  a simpleton, idiot, or fool

saphead

²

/ ˈsæpˌhɛd /

noun

1. military the end of a sap nearest to the enemy

Other Word Forms

• sapheaded adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of saphead¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; sap ¹ + head

Example Sentences

But Mr. Kellow is no saphead, and he makes objectivity a great virtue.

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I bet I know what that saphead of an editor had to say without reading his letter.

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My seat was next to Mrs. Martin for safe keeping, while grey eyes sat across from me and talked to an aggressive looking saphead in a watered silk waistcoat.

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“Lower a boat, saphead, in a sea like this!” scoffed the first speaker.

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He shook his head and cried vehemently: “What a saphead I’d be if I fell to that bait!”

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