Dictionary

wooden spoon en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ˈwʊdən spuːn/

Meanings

1. A spoon made from wood, commonly used in food preparation.
2. (Australia, New-Zealand, idiomatic) An ironic prize for finishing last in a competition.
   • Earnestly bent upon fulfilling the weighty, nay solemn, responsibilities of his office at all hazard, even at the risk of so far neglecting his parliamentary duties as to appear upon the division-list less frequently than any of his colleagues, Sir John Pakington wore the wooden spoon at the whitebait dinner, though with an air of waggery — almost as a decoration. 1858, Charles Kent, The Derby Ministry: A Series of Cabinet Pictures, page 237:
3. (dated, qualifier:Cambridge University slang) The last junior optime who takes a university degree.
   • We submit that a wooden spoon of our day would not be justified in calling Galileo and Napier blockheads because they never heard of the differential calculus. 1843, Thomas Macaulay, Sir James Mackintosh's History of the Revolution:
4. (US, dated, qualifier:university slang) The lowest appointee of the junior year; sometimes, one especially popular in his class, without reference to scholarship. Formerly, it was a custom for classmates to present to this person a wooden spoon with formal ceremonies.

Forms

Deriveds

wooden spoonist · wooden spooner

Relateds

lanterne rouge · booby prize

Translations (49)

fy spoen (spoon made from wood) · yue 木羹 (spoon made from wood) · ja 杓文字 (spoon made from wood) · hu fakanál (spoon made from wood) · sv träsked (spoon made from wood) · unm taxànèmhòn (spoon made from wood) · de Holzlöffel (spoon made from wood) · sv träslev (spoon made from wood) · gd spàin-fhiodha (spoon made from wood) · ru деревя́нная ло́жка (spoon made from wood) · de Kochlöffel (spoon made from wood) · fi kapusta (spoon made from wood) · uk копи́стка (spoon made from wood) · cmn 木勺 (spoon made from wood) · ru меси́лка (spoon made from wood) · sh mešaja (spoon made from wood) · sh варјача (spoon made from wood) · nn tresleiv (spoon made from wood) · fr cuillère en bois (prize for coming last in a competition) · sl varjača (spoon made from wood) · it maglia nera (prize for coming last in a competition) · nl pollepel (spoon made from wood) · pl drewniana łyżka (spoon made from wood) · de rote Laterne (prize for coming last in a competition) · da træske (spoon made from wood) · nl rode lantaarn (prize for coming last in a competition) · sh мешајица (spoon made from wood) · sh varjača (spoon made from wood) · fi lohdutuspalkinto (prize for coming last in a competition) · ru меша́лка (spoon made from wood) · it cucchiaio di legno (spoon made from wood) · bg дървена лъжица (spoon made from wood) · nrf tchulyi en bouais (spoon made from wood) · cs vařečka (spoon made from wood) · nb tresleiv (spoon made from wood) · sh kuhača (spoon made from wood) · pt colher de pau (spoon made from wood) · es cuchara de madera (spoon made from wood) · es cuchara de madera (prize for coming last in a competition) · sh мешаја (spoon made from wood) · it mestolo di legno (spoon made from wood) · pl kopyść (spoon made from wood) · mi koko rākau (spoon made from wood) · sv jumbopris (prize for coming last in a competition) · ru весёлка (spoon made from wood) · sh mešejica (spoon made from wood) · fr cuillère en bois (spoon made from wood) · fi puukauha (spoon made from wood) · nl houten lepel (spoon made from wood)