drongo

Meaning

Noun

• Any bird of the family Dicruridae.
• A fool, an idiot, a stupid fellow.

Related

Similar words

• cretin, doilem , dufus, fool, glaik , idiot, mong

Origin

• From Malagasy drongo.
• From an Australian racehorse named Drongo, apparently after the bird (specifically, after the Spangled drongo, Dicrurus bracteatus (species)). The horse (foaled 1920, retired 1925) never won a race, and by transference anyone slow-witted or clumsy became a drongo.
• Alternatively, from putative RAAF slang drongo (a recruit), similarly after the bird.
• Another suggested derivation is the Scottish Gaelic drongair ("drunkard").