the nuts

nuts

1. noun, vulgar slang The testicles. I kicked the mugger in the nuts and grabbed my wallet back off him. He grabbed his nuts in a lewd gesture to the crowd.
2. noun, vulgar slang Confidence, self-esteem, motivation, etc. Often but not always said of a man. You've got nuts standing up to them like that, man. He doesn't have the nuts to try a plan that bold.
3. adjective Crazy; manic or eccentric; out of one's mind. Trying to figure out what's wrong with this computer is driving me nuts! You're totally nuts if you think they'll let you get away with it.
4. interjection An exclamation of dismay, frustration, or exasperation. Ah, nuts! I left my lunchbox on the school bus! A: "Nuts!" B: "What's wrong?" A: "The screwdriver slipped out of my hand and left a big gash in the wall."

the nuts

slang In poker, the winning or best possible hand of cards. I knew I had the nuts, so I decided to slow play until the river.
See also: nuts
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

nuts

and nutz
1. mod. crazy. (There is no difference in pronunciation between nuts and nutz.) That whole idea is just nuts!
2. exclam. No!; I don’t believe you!; I don’t care! (Usually Nuts!) Oh, nuts! I forgot my wallet.
3. n. the testicles. (Usually objectionable.) Chuck got kneed in the nuts in a football game.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • nuts
  • nutz
  • nads
  • nards
  • nuggets
  • stones
  • bust (one's) nuts
  • bust nuts
  • bust nuts to do something
  • bust one’s nuts
References in classic literature
TIMMY TIPTOES sat out, enjoying the breeze; he whisked his tail and chuckled --"Little wife Goody, the nuts are ripe; we must lay up a store for winter and spring." Goody Tiptoes was busy pushing moss under the thatch--"The nest is so snug, we shall be sound asleep all winter." "Then we shall wake up all the thinner, when there is nothing to eat in spring-time," replied prudent Timothy.
WHEN these stumps were full, they began to empty the bags into a hole high up a tree, that had belonged to a wood-pecker; the nuts rattled down--down-- down inside.
WHEN Timmy and Goody Tiptoes came to the nut thicket, they found other squirrels were there already.
GOODY TIPTOES picked up the nut bags and went home.
'The nuts are quite ripe now,' said Chanticleer to his wife Partlet,
Another day Chanticleer and Partlet agreed to go again to the mountains to eat nuts; and it was settled that all the nuts which they found should be shared equally between them.
The Monkeys at the sight of the nuts forgot their dancing and became (as indeed they were) Monkeys instead of actors.
Tea was despatched rapidly, therefore, and the party gathered round the wide hearth in the dining-room, where the nuts were soon dancing gaily on hot shovels or bouncing out among the company, thereby causing delightful panics among the little ones.
She thought this was very kind and thoughtful of the Scarecrow, but she laughed heartily at the awkward way in which the poor creature picked up the nuts. His padded hands were so clumsy and the nuts were so small that he dropped almost as many as he put in the basket.
They grew also behind my house, and one large tree, which almost overshadowed it, was, when in flower, a bouquet which scented the whole neighborhood, but the squirrels and the jays got most of its fruit; the last coming in flocks early in the morning and picking the nuts out of the burs before they fell, I relinquished these trees to them and visited the more distant woods composed wholly of chestnut.
All these different products are afforded before the nut is formed, and while it is green it contains a delicious cooling water; with these nuts they store their gelves, and it is the only provision of water which is made in this country.
The nut burns with a fitful bluish flame, and the oil that it contains is exhausted in about ten minutes.
He discovered a coco-tree, beat down some of the fruit, broke them, and we drunk the milk and ate the nut with a satisfaction that protested against the ordinary food on the Nautilus.
raw, fried, roasted or salted) that may alter the properties in the nuts, pregnant mothers should consult a certified nutritionist who can give personalised recommendations."
From earliest times the nuts were most important and nutritious food for humans, they were inspired globally for their nutritional quality and health promoting characteristics.