noggin, n.¹ — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

noggin n.¹

[? SE noggin, a small drinking vessel, a mug; orig. US, but migrated to the UK in mid-19C]

1. the head.

1825		Pierce Egan’s Life in London 12 June 157/2: Byrne made a smashing body hit; Larkin, in return, took the number of his noggin.
1859		H.E. Taliaferro Fisher’s River 35: The first idea that entered his ‘noggin’ was that he was in a general ‘still-house’ fight.
1865		M.L. Byrn Adventures of Fudge Fumble 205: I [...] laid hold of a big oak chair that I was sitting on, and down I brought it over Paddy’s noggin.
1877		Highland Wkly News (Hillsboro, OH) 30 Aug. 1/7: Roll that fact around in your noggin.
1885		Phudge Phumble Greenhorn 25: The full force of it against his noggin [DA].
1893		M.A. Owen Voodoo Tales 23: Lemme scratch dis hyeah ole noggin.
1902		Courier (Lincoln, NE) 10 May 11/2: People often wonder why baldness generally sweeps out such a neat, even space from the top of a man’s noggin.
1916		University Missourian (Columbia, MO) 16 Mar. 5/2: I only wish I had as much in my noggin as St patrick must have had in his.
1928		M. Meredith ‘The Human Head in Sl.’ in AS III:5 408: A colloquial or jocose expression for head [...] ‘noggin’.
1935		J. Conroy World to Win 26: Got t’ get it straight in my own noggin.
1943		H.A. Smith Life in a Putty Knife Factory (1948) 69: The psychiatrist had decided, after diagnosing his noggin, that he was a schizophrenic.
1955		B. Schulberg On the Waterfront (1964) 30: A noggin full of the kind of ideas that can get you hit in the head.
1960		Mad mag. Jan. 49: As I pulled in my noggin, and turned around fast.
1962		B. Behan Brendan Behan’s Island (1984) 102: Hey you down there, want to get a ’undredweight of lead on your noggin?
1979		Fantastic Four Annual 7: He’s fallin’ on his noggin!
1981		J. Wambaugh Glitter Dome (1982) 97: Leaping over the scuffling figure of the Weasel, who was pistol-whipping Just Plain Bill’s noggin into a pile of tapioca.
1991		B. Hamper Rivethead (1992) 154: That gigantic noggin of his tilted toward me, a hideous mask of pain.
1992		R.G. Barrett Davo’s Little Something 19: Are you ready to get your noggin shaved?
2000		P. Beatty Tuff 247: Winston’s first thought was to [...] slam their noggins together like orchestra cymbals.
2005		A. Lovejoy Acid Alex 184: The boyfriend and mates disappeared nursing sore noggins.
2008		T. Dorsey Atomic Lobster 153: He cracked the sleeping man’s noggin like he was opening a walnut.
2012		(con. 1980s) I. Welsh Skagboys 193: Begbie shakes his noggin aw that dismissive wey.
2015		N. Cummins Tales of the Honey Badger [ebook] The old man’s noggin looks as if it’s been put together like a ransom note.
2017		Twitter 7 Jan. 🌐 Heavy is the head that is Donald Trump's enormous orange noggin.
2017		S.M. Jones August Snow [ebook] Bullet followed an upward ten-degree trajectory and exited through the top right of her noggin.
2018		R. O’Neill ‘Ocker’ in The Drover’s Wives (2019) 182: Then she walloped the bugger a good one on the noggiin.
2020		(con. 1991-94) W. Boyle City of Margins 143: ‘I need this moral-high-ground shit like I need a hole in my noggin’.

2. a glass of beer.

1894		Arnold & LeBrunn [perf. Gus Elen] ‘The Coster’s Muvver’ 🎵 O’ course she likes her chat wiv the neighbours and all that / And just a little splash of noggin’s too.
1936		Wodehouse ‘Archibald and the Masses’ in Young Men in Spats 245: ‘Serve out noggins to the masses’.
1948		Centralian Advocate (Alice Springs, NT) 13 Aug. 10/2: Maybe it’s OK for the men to get that last ‘noggin’, but what about the women and their babies?
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. 143: noggin A glass of beer, possibly from the word meaning ‘head’ in Britain, and a poured beer is expected to have a head of froth. ANZ.

3. a hangover.

1938		D. Runyon ‘Dancing Dan’s Christmas’ in Runyon on Broadway (1954) 263: The noggin I have on me afterwards comes of mixing drinks.
1999		Indep. Rev. 7 Aug. 5: No more Prebendary’s Noggin or Torquemada’s Nightcap.

In phrases

off one’s noggin (adj.)

mad, crazy.

1955

in Nina Pulliam I Travelled a Lonely Land (1957) 149: They were nearly crazy for water. He drove them clean off their noggin, for a fact.

use the noggin (v.)

(orig. US) to act intelligently, to be aware.

1945		Detective Book Club Selections 32 179: You should have used your noggin and followed through behind Jeff when the opportumties came crying to you.
1951		Landfall 5 202: He seemed satisfied with his portion. ‘Thanks, chum,’ said Vic, ‘You used your noggin.’ .
1987		J. Pinkwater Disappearance of Sister Perfect 35: You probably used your noggin to do some tall headwork.
2003		William Umiker ‘The Aging Brain’ at InHis.com 🌐 YOU GOTTA USE THE NOGGIN. Your brain is like your muscles. It has to be used to keep it in top shape.
2013		J. Tyrrell Adaptation [ebook] If you ask me, which you probably won't, but if you did, and you used your noggin, instead of banging on about what he's got, try figuring out what he don't got. Get it?

noggin n.1

In phrases

noggin n.¹