Jolterheads

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A foolish, slow-witted person, often used as an insulting term for someone who seems incapable of clear thinking
2. An old-fashioned name for a dull, dim-witted fool whose reasoning is considered thick or clumsy
3. Someone regarded as stupid or obtuse, a blockhead who lacks sense and quickness of understanding

Etymology: "Jolterheads" is the plural of "jolterhead," a blockhead or dolt. The singular is itself built from "jolter," a dialect or obsolete form related to "jolt," with "head" added as the familiar English word for a person's skull, which in insults of this type stands in for the whole stupid person. Words of this pattern, such as "dunderhead" and "numskull," follow the same logic of calling someone's head the seat of their dullness.

Synonyms: blockhead, dolt, numskull, dunce, fool