dingbat

(dĭng'băt')
n.

1. Slang. An empty-headed or silly person.
2. An object, such as a brick or stone, used as a missile.
3. Slang. An unspecified gadget or other small article, especially one whose name is unknown or forgotten.
4. Printing. A typographical ornament or symbol.

[Probably DING¹ + BAT² (as in bats in the belfry).]

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noun

A person regarded as strange, eccentric, or crazy: crackpot, crazy, eccentric, lunatic. Informal crank, loon, loony. Slang cuckoo, ding-a-ling, kook, nut, screwball, weirdie, weirdo. See wise/foolish.

noun
noun, Austral and NZ

1: pl. , esp. in phr. to have the dingbats, to be dingbats, to be mad, stupid, eccentric; also, to have delirium tremens. (1911 —) .
G. Slatter Boozin' again! You'll end up with the dingbats, you will (1959).

2: US and Austral A stupid or eccentric person. (1915 —) .
New York Times Miss Sternhagen's mother increases in giddiness, even to wearing what appears to be a feather in her hair. She is, in fact, a certifiable dingbat (1985).

[Cf. earlier senses, money, thingumajig, tramp; perh. from ding to beat + bat hitting implement, or from ding sound of a bell + bat flying animal, with jocular reference to phr. bats in the belfry.]

Previous:	ding-dong, ding-a-ling, ding
Next:	dinge, dingleberry, dingo

For a list of words related to dingbat, see:

• Printing and Typefaces - dingbat: typographic symbol or ornament such as fist, arrow, or heart
• Intelligence or Aptitude

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See words rhyming with "dingbat."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Dingbat.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - galning, galskab, gys, gåsehud, typografisk mærke, dims, font, symbol

Français (French)
n. - (Typ) fonte, (US) imbécile, andouille

Deutsch (German)
n. - Dingbat

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - εκκεντρικός, (Η/Υ) συμβολοχαρακτήρας

Español (Spanish)
n. - persona tonta, un objeto que se puede lanzar como proyectil, cualquier cosa pequeña y no especificada, cuyo nombre no se recuerda, ornamento tipográfico o símbolo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - sl. grunka, grej, dumskalle

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
容易投掷的东西, 办法, 主意

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 容易投擲的東西, 辦法, 主意

한국어 (Korean)
n. - (글자 형태 중 하나인) 장식 활자

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) حرف طباعي ( مثل)* , شخص مغفل أو معتوه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮גופן של אות-הדפסה (שם)‬

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