saphead

American  

[sap-hed] / ˈsæpˌhɛd /

noun

Slang.

1. a simpleton; fool.

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saphead ¹ British  

/ ˈsæpˌhɛd /

noun

1. slang a simpleton, idiot, or fool

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saphead ² British  

/ ˈsæpˌhɛd /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

• sapheaded
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of saphead

First recorded in 1790–1800; sap ¹ + head

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

saphead

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

From New York Times ● Oct. 26, 2011

This kind of pitch, with its view of the consumer as saphead, is still afl too prevalent.

From Time Magazine Archive

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

From In the Heart of a Fool by William Allen White

Sarah Eliza professed a preference for High, Low, Jack, and the Game; any saphead could play that.

From Two Knapsacks A Novel of Canadian Summer Life by John Campbell

Twenty minutes afterwards the sergeant, crawling warily on his belly, approached a saphead and after a brief word or two dropped in.

From No Man's Land by H. C. (Herman Cyril) McNeile

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