dingbat

dingbat

1. One who is stupid or foolish. Geez, he keeps pulling on a door that's clearly marked "push"—what a dingbat.
2. A name for a small gadget whose actual name has, typically, been forgotten. Where's that dingbat? I need it to finish this repair.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

dingbat

1. n. a name for a gadget. Isn’t there supposed to be a little red dingbat that goes in this hole?
2. n. a stupid person. Who is the dingbat with Bob?
3. n. any undesirable person. (Also a rude term of address.) I’m tired of reading about that dingbat in the paper every day.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • dingus
  • dingy
  • dingleberry
  • dinghead
  • doofus
  • blockhead
  • dimwit
  • dipwad
  • ding-a-ling
References in periodicals archive
Zapf Dingbats Last year police made 3,271 seizures in Birmingham.
Zapf Dingbats Central England customs and excise seized drugs worth pounds 2.8 million.
Zapf Dingbats Three-quarters of children are offered drugs by the time they are 16.
Zapf Dingbats Almost half of all children under 16 have tried drugs.
Zapf Dingbats One in five people arrested for any crime tests positive for heroin.
Zapf Dingbats Half of all people arrested have used some sort of illegal drug in the previous 24 hours.
Zapf Dingbats Three-quarters of drug addicts receiving treatment are male.
Zapf Dingbats Heroin has HALVED in price in the last 10 years.
Facts of a growing industry
The Dingbats' only point was won by Josh Molnar against Adam Athey.
Bousfield hat-trick