idiot
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babbling idiot
A person who talks excessively without making sense or saying anything of importance, sarcastically and derogatorily likened to someone with a mental deficiency. Maurice just rattled on and on like a babbling idiot last night about his schemes to get rich. I must have sounded like a babbling idiot from the way I talked about the new house. Why is it that I always become a babbling idiot when I have to talk to the boss?
See also: idiot
blithering idiot
cliché An utter fool; an especially stupid person. You blithering idiot! You completely screwed up the machinery! I swear, the board of directors must be made up of a bunch of blithering idiots, considering the direction this company is headed. You can't tell people you want to start a business selling bees as pets—they'll think you're a blithering idiot!
See also: idiot
idiot card
slang In broadcasting, a card or board that displays the text that someone is to recite; a cue card. I don't need one of those idiot cards, thank you very much—I have the whole thing memorized. I know his remarks weren't an ad-lib because he gets terrible stage fright and needs idiot cards at all times. Man, I thought I wouldn't need an idiot card, but once the bright lights went on, I forgot everything I was supposed to say.
idiot gloves
Mittens or gloves that are attached to one's sleeves by a length of yarn or string so as to prevent their being lost. I always hated the idiot gloves my mom made me wear when I was a kid. They made me feel like such a dope! A: "Have you seen my gloves?" B: "Dude, we need to get you some idiot gloves already!" With the way you lose things, you need those idiot gloves that little kids have!
idiot juice
slang A type of alcoholic drink made in prisons, usually with nutmeg and water. This idiot juice is pretty disgusting, but it's all we've got. I was never a big drinker, so I had absolutely no desire to touch that idiot juice guys made in prison. Blech. I'm glad to have access to real booze again, instead of that jailhouse idiot juice!
idiot light
slang A warning light on the dashboard of an automobile meant to alert the driver to a potential problem, such as engine trouble, low fuel, overheating, etc. See? You ignore the idiot light, and the car ends up breaking down in the middle of nowhere. He's 17 years old—of course he ignored the idiot light and ran out of gas. A: "I need to schedule an oil change with Joe." B: "Idiot light came on?" A: "Yeah."
idiot mittens
Mittens or gloves that are attached to one's sleeves by a length of yarn or string so as to prevent their being lost. I always hated the idiot mittens my mom made me wear when I was a kid. They made me feel like such a dope! A: "Have you seen my mittens?" B: "Dude, we need to get you some idiot mittens already!" With the way you lose things, you need those idiot mittens that little kids have!
idiot pills
slang Barbiturates (a type of sedative drug). Idiot pills are dangerous, man—I'd stay away from them. Tad took an idiot pill last night and passed out, man. The police officer discovered that the driver was whacked out on idiot pills.
take (one) for (something)
1. To presume or believe that one is a certain type of person. Huh. I didn't take you for the lying type. I'd advise you not to take her for a fool. She may play dumb, but she's very crafty.
2. To swindle, cheat, or defraud someone out of something, especially some amount of money. When all was said and done, that no-good lawyer took us for thousands of dollars.
3. To bring someone (to some location) in order to treat them to something. The boss said he would take us for pizza at the end of the week. Let's take the kids for ice cream tomorrow.
take (one) for a fool
To presume or believe that one is very stupid or foolish. I'd advise you not to take her for a fool. She may play dumb, but she's very crafty.
take (one) for an idiot
To presume or believe that one is very stupid or foolish. I'd advise you not to take her for an idiot. She may play dumb, but she's very crafty. Do you take me for an idiot? There's no way I'm falling for that again.
take (one) for dead
To mistakenly assume or believe that one is dead. The bandits took the woman for dead, but she survived and swore revenge against them all. I took the creature for dead, but it leaped up and bit me on the arm when I approached it.
the idiot box
slang A television set, or television in general. We need to start encouraging our children to play outside, instead of just spending hours in front of the idiot box. It saddens me that people would rather watch the idiot box than explore the world around them.
village idiot
Someone known for being stupid or foolish. I know I've made some big mistakes in the past and everyone in town sees me as the village idiot, but I'm not that girl anymore—I've grown up.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
take someone for an idiot and take someone for a fool
to assume that someone is stupid. I wouldn't do anything like that! Do you take me for an idiot? I don't take you for a fool. I think you're very clever.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
idiot box
A television set, as in There they sit in front of the idiot box, hour after hour. This slangy and pejorative expression dates from about 1960.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
idiot box
n. a television set. You spend too much time watching the idiot box.
idiot card
n. a large card that shows people on television what to say. The floor director held up an idiot card so I could read out the telephone number.
idiot juice
and idiotic (ˈɪdiət dʒus and ɪdiˈɑdɪk) n. a mixture of ground nutmeg and water. (Prisons.) Somehow a bunch of these guys got hold of some idiot juice.
idiot light
n. a light (instead of a meter) on a car’s dashboard that indicates the state of various things concerning the operation of the car. (Alludes to these lights’ elimination of the knowledge required to interpret a meter reading, making them suitable for idiots.) I don’t want idiot lights. I want meters!
idiot oil
n. liquor; alcohol. She drinks too much of that idiot oil.
idiot pills
n. barbiturates. (Drugs.) Lay off those idiot pills, why don’t you?
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
blithering idiot
A senseless babbler. This term owes its origin to the Scots dialect verb to blether, meaning to talk nonsense, with blither being a variant spelling. Combining it with “idiot” began in the late 1800s. It appeared in the British humor magazine Punch in 1889: “I’ll state pretty clearly that his son is a blithering idiot.”
See also: idiot
idiot box
A television set. The term dates from about 1950 and obviously is a derogatory take on the medium of television. For example, “It’s a shame her kids have no supervision and just sit, hour after hour, in front of the idiot box.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer