pillock

English

Etymology

In the middle of the 16th century, the meaning was "penis".[1] Probably from pillicock (“penis; boy, man”), presumably akin to the slang term dickhead (“inept fool”).[2] Alternatively, from the same basis as pillicock (compare regional Norwegian pill (“penis”)) + the diminutive suffix -ock.

Pronunciation

  • Audio (UK):(file)

Noun

pillock (plural pillocks)

  1. (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, derogatory, slang) A stupid or annoying person; a simpleton; a fool.
    • 1970 October 27, Monty Python's Flying Circus, The Butcher Who is Alternately Rude and Polite‎[3]:
      What is it now, you great pillock?
    • 2021 March 19, Bosnian Ape Society, 3:55 from the start, in Is Your Car Safe From Supermaneuverable Air-Defense Fighter Aircraft?‎[4], archived from the original on 7 August 2022:
      Take your Typhoon up there and swat the annoying mosquito out of the sky by challenging the infantile pillock to a classic World-War-II-era dogfight like a real man, to show them who the real king of European airspace is.

Synonyms

  • (UK, Ireland, derogatory, slang, stupid or annoying person): wazzock, plonker

Translations

References

  1. ^ “Rare and Amusing Insults: Cockalorum, Snollygoster, and More”, in Merriam-Webster‎[1], 28 December 2024 (last accessed), archived from the original on 28 December 2024
  2. ^ Rabon, John (23 October 2020) “Brit Slang: Ten English Insults Every Anglophile Should Know”, in Anglotopia‎[2]

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