fool, n. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

fool n.

1. a stupid or foolish thing.

1889		C. Deveureux Venus in India II 143: She would [...] feel for, and clutch my infernal fool of a prick, which would stand furiously for her, though I wished it cut off at such moments.
1890		Sporting Times 18 Jan. 1: Portugal is, of course, a little twopenny-halfpenny fool of a place.
1906		Sun. Times (Perth) 24 June 4/6: The unspeakable fool who lets himself be rooked by such a fool-yarn.

2. an easy thing, in comparison; usu. in phr. a fool to it.

1890		Sporting Times 8 Feb. 3/1: I am told that six months’ hard is a fool to it.
1908		Sporting Times 1 Aug. 1/3: Said one to another, as he endeavoured to shoulder a dress-basket about as big as the Rowley Mile Stand: ‘Wonder wotinell’s inside this ’un, Harry. A ton of iron’s a fool to it!’.

3. anyone excessively enthusiastic about a given activity or topic; thus dancing fool, singing fool; often found as a fool for...

1887		in Overland Monthly (CA) July 66: That air that fiddlin’ fool, Pete Dobine.
1917		Van Loan ‘A Morning Workout’ in Old Man Curry 208: Crap-shootin’ fools, both of ’em.
1930		J. Coleman ‘Coffee Grinder Blues’ lyrics] / [...] / I’m a coffee-grinding fool, now let me grind you some.
1948		S, Paige Pitchin’ Man 46: When Paul and Lloyd Waner was hittin’ fools for the Pittsburgh Pirates I throwed against them plenty on the Coast.
1953		‘William Lee’ Junkie (1966) 32: He located a doctor in Brooklyn who was a writing fool.
1957		Kerouac On The Road (1972) 77: You never saw a driving fool like that.
1964		D. Gregory Nigger 74: I’ll bring you home, you running fool, and you can tell us what the victory was all about.
1971		(con. late 1930s) B. Short Black and White Baby 199: [T]he instructor [...] said that for five hundred dollars he'd throw the book at me and in no time at all I'd be a dancing fool.
1987		‘Joe Bob Briggs’ Joe Bob Goes to the Drive-In 112: I told him he’s in the land of bowling fools.
2001		(con. 1975–6) E. Little Steel Toes 12: A regular car-stealing fool, with a real bad temper.

4. a person, irrespective of their actual intelligence.

1969		‘Iceberg Slim’ Pimp 22: This fool had a smart square broad with a progressive square-john husband, infatuated with him.
1974		V.E. Smith Jones Men 183: What is this fool talkin’ bout?
1980		E. Folb Runnin’ Down Some Lines 40: Fool sittin’ over here makin’ disturbances.
1993		Snoop Doggy Dogg ‘Murder was the Case’ 🎵 I’m gonna smoke this fool.
2001		C. Stella Eddie’s World 39: Three fools with three baseball bats, and all they could do was knock him out.

5. (also foo) a general term of address.

1967		M. Braly On the Yard (2002) 85: Now, you jus’ signifying, fool. I got big-six myself.
1986		C. Stroud Close Pursuit (1988) 98: Ain’t no hymie poppy love be on The Deuce Monday night, fool!
1997		G. Sikes 8 Ball Chicks (1998) 192: What’s up, fool? I’m talking to you.
2000		P. Beatty Tuff 7: Look, fool [...] in this busines people don’t walk in the door shaking their fists in your face.
2002		Teen Lingo: The Source for Youth Ministry 🌐 foo n. (derived from fool) a friend. ‘Whasup foo?’ 2. an insulting name for someone. ‘What you lookin’ at foo?’.

6. (also foo) a stupid person.

1996–2000		(con. 1940s) Deuce Ofay Productions ‘The Jive Bible’ at JiveOn.com 🌐 Gravy on (one’s) grits: adj. Said of an individual who has proved to be a success in financial matters; Rich. ‘Why don’t Jeremy come ’roun hea’ no more? He always be out oozin’ an’ schmoozin’ a’ late.’ ‘He got gravy on his grits now, man. He don’t need ta’ be pimpin’ wit’ us at de quickie mart like we’s use to.’ ‘Dat Chump!’ ‘Sheeeeeit! Jive-ass foo’ wuz a gorilla pimp anyhow!’.
2003		Urban Dict. 🌐 6 April: wanksta – A fake-ass foo trying to be hard.

SE in slang uses

In compounds

fool-ass (n.) [-ass sfx]

a general term of disparagement; the inference is of stupidity.

1967		C. Cooper Jr Farm (1968) 93: I get enough laughs outta what these foolass dopefiends have to say to last me till next month.
1973		D. Goines Street Players 113 Why, they’d keep that fool-ass bitch of yours locked up for five years.

fool-finder (n.) [? because only fools are available when he comes to call]

a bailiff.

1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue (3rd edn).
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.

foolhead (n.) [-head sfx (1)]

a fool; thus foolheaded adj., stupid, foolish.

1854		London Standard 16 May 4/4: A heavy income tax, which might have been avoided had it not been for the fool-headed rashness of [etc.].
1884		Lichfield Mercury 20 June 5/2: An unxpected accidnet brought about by the fool-headed larking proclivities of [...] very junior yeomanry officers.
1894		Truth (Sydney) 11 Mar. 1/7: Another foolhead has pointed a gun at his friend ‘in fun’.
1903		G.D. Chase ‘Cape Cod Dialect’ in DN II:v 297: foolhead, n. A foolish person, or animal. ‘That foolhead of a calf tipped his pail over.’.
1903		Eve. Teleg. (Dundee) 25 Feb. 3/3: I must go and play bridge with the Marquis Foolhead and Viascount Noodle.
1912		Derby Dly Teleg. 9 Mar. 2/7: [pic caption] Foolhead’s Duel.
1923		Yorks. Eve. Post 1 Feb. 7/5: The reason so many cyclists do not want rear lights [...] is not a parsimonious or fool-headed one.
1934		Western Morn. News 15 Nov. 6/6: Their mad and foolheaded Socialist leaders.
1949		L. Hughes Tambourines to Glory I vii: I drank likker [...] It made me fool-headed.

fool-monger (n.) [SE sfx -monger]

1. one who ‘trades on’ the credulity of fools, a swindler.

1681		Otway Soldier’s Fortune I i: Of all rogues, I would not be a fool-monger.
1890–1904		Farmer & Henley Sl. and Its Analogues.

2. a gambler.

1890–1904

Farmer & Henley Sl. and Its Analogues.

fool’s dim (n.)

(US black) a (black) maid’s evening off.

1943

D. Burley N.Y. Amsterdam News 9 Oct. 20: The banter had been spinning at the track on fool’s dim.

fool-taker (n.)

(UK Und.) a dice- or card-sharp; thus fool-taking, the swindling of gamblers.

1592		Greene Disputation Betweene a Hee and a Shee Conny-Catcher in Grosart (1881–3) X 163: The fine Foole-taker himselfe, with one or two more of that companie, were not long after apprehended. [...] A notable knave, who for his cunning deceiving a Gentleman of his purse scorned the name of a Conny-catcher, and would needes be termed a Fooletaker, as master and beginner of that new found Arte.
1608		Dekker Belman of London H4: The fourth Jump is called Foole-taking; and that is done severall wayes, sometimes by setting a couple of suttle rogues to sing ballads on a stall, till a number of people presse about them to buy their trash, and then their purses being discouered, are quickly in the Nips fingers. Others are Foole-taken by letting chambers to fellowes like seruing-men [...] bringing in a trunck exceeding heavy, and crambd full of bricke-bats, which is left in the hired chamber, and five times the value of it lifted away in stead of it.

fool trap (n.)

1. a hoax.

1882

Sydney Sl. Dict. (2 edn) 5: A hoax, a fool-trap.

2. one who ‘trades on’ the credulity of fools, a swindler.

1890–1904

Farmer & Henley Sl. and Its Analogues.

3. the vagina.

1890–1904

Farmer & Henley Sl. and Its Analogues.

4. a high-class prostitute.

1890–1904

Farmer & Henley Sl. and Its Analogues.

In phrases

fool up (v.)

(W.I.) to deceive, to trick.

1913		H. De Lisser Jane’s Career (1971) 3: Don’t allow any of those Kingston buoy to fool you up.
1941		Warner, Junker & al. Color & Human Nature 121: [in sense of impregnate] I don’t fool around with bright people ’cause my sister let a bright boy mess her up down South. A friend of ours sent her girl up here and one of these nice looking bright boys fooled her up too’.