Dictionary

nut-head en · NOUN

Etymology

From nut + head.

Meanings

1. The outer portion of a nut (as opposed to the threads inside).
   • The rails are bolted to these (the nut-heads being filed off if necessary), and the line thus forms a continuous whole. 2013, Lord Frederick J.D. Lugard, The Rise of Our East African Empire (1893), →ISBN:
   • The machine is commonly rated at 800,000 pounds, but the last experiment approximating three-quarters of that amount ended by shearing off all the nut-heads at the recoil of the machine, and I found my labor was in vain. 1897, American Institute of Mining Engineers, Transactions - Volume 26, page 1018:
   • In such a device the riveting may be effected with proper riveting-tools, and the nut-head afterward screwed on. 1879, United States Patent Office, Specifications and Drawings of Patents Issued from the U.S. Patent Office, page 129:
   • The boards we use are attached to the permanent stone copings by bolts and nuts 4 feet apart ; iron bands, which are used to strengthen the boards, afford firm hold for the nut-heads. 1881, Gardeners Chronicle & New Horticulturist, page 271:
2. A head (for a doll, puppet, etc.) made out of a nut.
   • Dried plants make equally good raw material for toymakers, and vivid little personalities may be born of nut-heads with moss or corn silk hair, and peanuts or seedpods for feet; stitched leaf skirts and tiny bouquets of dried flowers, built on a foundation of pipe-cleaners and posed against a painted background. 1953, Lesley Gordon, Peepshow Into Paradise: A History of Children's Toys:
   • Speaking of nut-heads reminds me of the shrunken head trophies which head-hunters sell as souvenirs in the interior of Ecuador and of a specimen I later saw in La Paz. 1914, Gulian Lansing Morrill, To Hell and Back: My Trip to South America, page 20:
3. Various species of weed found in New South Wales, Australia, including Epaltes australis and Epaltes cunninghamii
   • Although dense stands of tall nut-heads are sometimes present after flooding, the plant more commonly occurs as scattered individuals. 2011, Geoffrey McIver Cunningham, Plants of Western New South Wales, →ISBN, page 685:
4. Alternative form of nuthead. ▸ Kook.
   • They were tactful toward me, considerate of my feelings, and usually greeted me with encouraging remarks like, "Ain't you folks gone bankropt yit?" or "They's been some real nut-heads drift through here in my time but you birds take the cake." 1962, Harry Allen Smith, To Hell in a Handbasket, page 155:
   • "'That thing,'" the mother chuckled juicily at her daughter's clever turn of phrase. "That's what you call it a straight-jacket, dearyme. He's a nut-head, the poor poke." 2012, Avram Davidson, Rogue Dragon, →ISBN:
5. Alternative form of nuthead. ▸ Idiot.
   • “I'm rinsing myhair in it, nut-head,” Julie said from beneath the swirl of dark blond hair. “Hand me my towel.” “Nut-head? You called your sweet little brother a nut-head?” 2001, Dorothy Garlock, The Edge of Town, →ISBN:
   • Addressing this cavalier Western attitude, Dr. Muniini K. Mulera warned "self-righteous moralists informed by hindsight" not to ask how anyone could be so gullible. "Labelling these people stupid nut-heads will not do," he wrote in the Monitor. 1999, Culture Wars - Volume 19, page 36:

Forms