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Dec 26, 2003

This week's theme
Words to describe people

This week's words
sansculotte
oleaginous
rebarbative
debonair
ninnyhammer

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ninnyhammer

ninnyhammer (NIN-ee-ham-uhr) noun

A fool; blockhead.

[Of uncertain origin. From ninny (perhaps shortening of innocent) + hammer (possibly from hammerheaded).]

"I already eat as slowly as I can without looking like an affected ninnyhammer, so my alternatives seem to be to stare at him as he eats, or to eat more food myself, though I am already full. Can you suggest some polite activity in which I can engage myself while waiting for my dinner partner to catch up?"
Judith Martin; One Talks, the Other Chews; The Washington Post; Jan 19, 1994.

"Margaret Lloyd made the sweetly ninnyhammer heroine Josephine believable within the wild framework of the plot, and swooped around the stage like a lark."
Craig Smith; Opera's Production of 'Pinafore' Full of Heart; Santa Fe New Mexican; Nov 24, 2001.

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