Ninnyhammer
A fool or simpleton.
It's long since vanished except in works that consciously seek to
evoke a bygone age through antique language. The most likely place
to encounter it is in Volume Three of J R R Tolkien's The Lord of
the Rings: "You're nowt but a ninnyhammer, Sam Gamgee: that's what
the Gaffer said to me often enough, it being a word of his." At one
time, it was an excellent addition to one's armoury of invective,
as here in John Arbuthnot's satirical pamphlet of 1712, The Law is
a Bottomless Pit: "Have you no more manners than to rail at Hocus,
that has saved that clod-pated, numskull'd ninnyhammer of yours
from ruin, and all his family?"
"Ninnyhammer" is first recorded from the late sixteenth century.
Its origin isn't altogether clear. The first part, "ninny", looks
like the word we still know today, which is thought to come from a
shortened and modified version of "an innocent", because "innocent"
at this time could mean a person lacking in intelligence or sense,
who was silly, half-witted, or imbecilic. However, it's far from
certain from the dates when they were first used whether "ninny"
comes from "ninnyhammer" or the other way around. The second part
is less obvious, but might be from "hammer-headed", which could
also then refer to a person who was dull-witted or stupid.
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