Green’s Dictionary of Slang

a fool; thus eejity adj., foolish.

1863		C. Reade Hard Cash II 6: There’s half a guinea for you for not being such an ijjit as the rest of the world.
1865		Leaves from Diary of Celebrated Burglar 133/1: Thau bloody e-edjit, duzn’t thau knoa neowt?
1867		R. Whiteing Mr Sprouts, His Opinions 40: ‘Wy, yer old hidjut,’ ses I.
1880		Northern Whig 7 Aug. 6/1: Some of the words [...] like ‘eedyet’ for idiot are not far wrong.
1884		C.E. Craddock In the Tennessee Mountains 66: He war a plumb idjit.
1888		Kipling ‘The Daughter of the Regiment’ in Plain Tales from the Hills 192: There come an order from some mad ijjit, whose name I misremember.
1898		F.P. Dunne Mr Dooley in Peace and War 122: O’Connell was a bor-rn idjet.
1898		H.B. Vogel Maori Maid 110: Well, I am a blooming idjut!
1899		J. Flynt Tramping with Tramps 244: Keep still, ye bloomin’ idjits!
1900		H. Garland Eagle’s Heart 79: Pratt looked round sheepishIy. ‘I do reckon I made a plum ejot of myself.’.
1903		H. Hapgood Autobiog. of a Thief 312: I’ll kick your head off, you ijit (idiot).
1905		H. Green Actors’ Boarding House (1906) 259: Sam is dead wise [...] and he’d win all the old idjut’s got.
1906		Marvel 30 June 646: ‘You – you ijut!’ gasped Tom in Spikey’s ear.
1914		R. Tressell Ragged Trousered Philanthropists (1955) 284: ‘Oh, of course everybody’s an idjit except you,’ sneered Crass.
1926		Breton & Bevir Adventures of Mrs. May 64: ‘Look ’ere, you idjits,’ I said laughing like.
1929		B. Duffy Rocky Road 200: Nora’s pulled [...] A big eejit of a bobby is after takin’ her to College Street Station.
1934		O. Strange Sudden 25: Why didn’t the damn young idjut pull his freight like I told him?
1937		W.M. Raine Cool Customer 11: We’re not complete idjits, fellow.
1940		O. Strange Sudden Takes the Trail 182: Blitherin’ idjut!
1945		(con. 1900s) S. O’Casey Drums Under the Windows 58: He wasn’t going to spend his life hawking round this poor bewildhered eejut.
1948		J. O’Connor Come Day – Go Day (1984) 10: What kind of an ould mad eegot is that Pachy fellow, anyway?
1949		(con. 1943–5) A. Murphy To Hell and Back (1950) 10: Of course I knowed where they was [...] Any ijiot would have.
1953		B. Behan Scarperer (1966) 31: Of course it doesn’t hurt, you little eedgit.
1955		J.P. Donleavy Ginger Man (1958) 165: Nine years in the textile trade taking guff from these awful eejits and not even a raise.
1961		(con. 1930s) D. Behan Teems of Times and Happy Returns 96: ‘Well,’ said Granny, ‘will they never even get a titter of sense? Twelve an’ six to see a crowd of eejits kick a ball away from them an’ run after it.’.
1961		‘Frank Richards’ Billy Bunter at Butlins 191: You look the stoopidest idjit I’ve ever seen in my natural.
1965		L. Dunne Goodbye to The Hill (1966) 57: And me standing there like a feckin’ eejit waiting for the post.
1972		J.B. Keane Letters of Irish Parish Priest 49: He has been dining out since, no doubt with those eejits of women in the upper crust here.
1973		B.S. Johnson All Bull 175: Get in step, you bloody ijit!
1979		J. Morrow Confessions of Proinsias O’Toole 22: He wallops in here [...] telling these idjits they need committees an’ executives.
1981		T. Wilkinson Down and Out 179: What do you think we are, fucking eejits altogether, some o’ yous?
1986		B. Geldof Is That It? 93: What an idjeet.
1989		Eble Campus Sl. Mar. 5: idgit – idiot.
1990		R. Doyle Snapper 147: She was making an eejit of him.
1999		K. Sampson Powder 19: Come here, you wee eedjit!
2000		T. Udo Vatican Bloodbath 26: No wi’ that, ya fucking eedjit!
2001		P. McCabe Emerald Germs of Ireland 345: God, but weren’t you the right eejit all the same.
2009		J. Joso Soothing Music for Stray Cats 180: I felt like a right e-jit.
2011		J.J. Connolly Viva La Madness 90: I couldn’t have eejits around me [...] I didn’t need some slipkid.
2015		L. McInerney Glorious Heresies 6: He’s an eejit [...] but he’s not warped.