noun
dingus
A person regarded as foolish or contemptible.
I felt like a dingus after pushing the door marked pull.
Etymology
Dutch dinges is a placeholder name for a thing whose proper name is unspecified. Applying that casual object-name to a person gives dingus its dismissive, insulting force.
More examples
- The comic calls himself a dingus for forgetting his own keys.
- She told the fictional bully to stop being a dingus.
- He called himself a dingus for leaving the tickets at home.
Forms
dingus · dinguses
Similar words
- fool
- Fool directly names someone acting unwisely; dingus is a more casual, often teasing insult.
- doofus
- Doofus likewise describes a silly or clumsy person informally.