dateless en · ADJ · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ˈdeɪtlɪs/
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
Unknown. Perhaps derived from Old English þeatless (“thoughtless, without plan”). See also deedless.
Meanings
-
Out of one's head; deranged.
An' they geet howd on her, and carried her into Sally Grimshaw's, an' laid her upo' th' couch cheer, as dateless as a stone !
1881, Edwin Waugh, “The Dead Man's Dinner”, in Tufts of heather, page 307:and he were put in York prison and tried and hung – hung! Charley! – kind father was hung on a gallows and mother lost sense and grew silly in grief and we were like to be turned on t' wide world and poor mother dateless
1863, Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, Sylvia's Lovers, page 135:Poor soul, she's gone dateless, I think, with care, and watching, and overmuch trouble; and who can wonder?
1848, Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, Mary Barton, page 98:
-
(UK, dialectal, slang) Thick-headed.
"You dateless article," stormed his father, leaving Bennett to realise in his laconic way that he was, and probably always would be, a disappointment to Dad.
2001 August 4, Lynne Walker, “Classical: Musical portrait of the artist as a young man”, in The Independent:Into the court you'd swanned, you dateless little pillock, if not wholly confident of winning, surely careless of losing.
1997, Peter O'Toole, Loitering with Intent: The Apprentice, →ISBN, page 281:You dateless fool, you stupid ass, clamped to / This crag for all eternity
1976, Fred Beake, Legends from Mammon, page 8:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more dateless | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most dateless | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Synonyms
daft · witless · lowbrow · ass-brained · puerile · foolish · vacant · dim-bulb · thick · dumb as a post · dumb · dull-witted · muttonheaded · half-brained · lumpish · unsmart · sharp as a bowling ball · slow · chuckleheaded · beefheaded · braindead · thick as mince · boofheaded · ignorant · vacuous · bullet-headed · insipid · dented · boneheaded · not the sharpest knife in the drawer · beef-witted · oafish · unapprehensive · uninformed · empty-headed · wool-headed · thick as a whale omelette · doltish · beetle-headed · slow on the uptake · silly · not the sharpest crayon in the box · obtuse · fatheaded · stolid · unclever · fuckwitted · feeble-minded · dense · brainless · mentally challenged · nitwitted · thickwitted · dim · hammer-headed · not the sharpest tool in the shed · dim-witted · flea-brained · dumb as a box of rocks · chowderheaded · blockheaded · woolly-minded · unintelligent · goofy · ridiculous · drowsy · dumb as an ox · lamebrained · slow-witted · thickheaded · pratty · dozy · buffle-headed · dumb as dirt · birdbrained · peabrained · dumb as a doorknob · Boeotian · wooden-headed · mentally retarded · dumber than a rock · inane · quarter-witted · dopey · smooth-brained · thick as a brick · dumb as a bag of hammers · dull-headed · childish · dull · airheaded · shit-for-brains · thick as champ · pudding-headed · crackbrained · stupid · thick-skulled · addlepated · dull-minded · lunkheaded · woolly-headed · intellectually challenged · sheep-headed · cerebrally challenged · thick as pig shit · fuzzy-headed · thick as two short planks · mindless · cretinous · addlebrained · purblind · bee-brained · fuzzy-minded · imbecilic · dim-headed · monosynaptic · numbskulled · idiotic · retarded · dumber than a box of rocks · dumb as a sack of hammers · half-witted · thick as a plank · knuckleheaded · simple · moronic · soft · dunderheaded · bubbleheaded · rockheaded