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

cork n.¹

[it is both a ‘stopper’ and it ‘bobs’ up and down]

the penis.

1751		Pope Rape of the Lock canto 4 20: And maids, turned bottles, call aloud for corks.
1779		Nocturnal Revels I 205: Lady H—ton was corked in the twinlking of an eye; but found fault that the Corks were not longer, and large enough for her calibre.
1834		‘Toasts And Sentiments’ in Black Joke 47: The clever waiter, who puts the cork in first, and the liquor afterwards.
1838		‘Long Tail Jock’ in Rambler’s Flash Songster 42: Some niggas tink themselves so big, / And show dare little cork.
1938		in V. Randolph Pissing in the Snow (1977) 148: The yankee says, ‘Boys, I can feel my cork a-bobbing.’.

cork-brained (adj.) (also corky-brained, corky-headed) [play on SE light-headed]

foolish, stupid; thus corkbrain n., a fool.

1630		J. Taylor ‘Watermens Suit’ in Works (1869) II 173: And howsoever we are slightly esteem’d by some giddy-headed corkbrains or mushroom painted puck-foysts.
c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Corky-brain’d Fellow, silly, foolish.
1725		New Canting Dict. n.p.: cork-brain’d silly, foolish.
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. 1725].
1787		Burns Briggs of Ayr in Works (1842) 70/1: Corke-headed, graceless gentry, The herryment and ruin of the country.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1899		Cornishman 27 July 6/2: Ben, clodpate, cod’s-head, corky-brained [...] are all synonyous, in the language of the canting crew, for fool.

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

(US) a fool.

1942		Freeman & Gilbert Larceny, Inc. [film script] You corkhead, banks aren’t made out of cellophane [HDAS].
1965		B. Wannan Fair Go, Spinner 136: ‘Eh, there, drop yer nut.’ [...] ‘Duck yerself, corkhead!’.
2000		D.J. Carlyon at Marco Pauck’s Photography Pages 🌐 I want to make sure I’m prepared and informed before I actually do it, instead of making the mistake of treating it [i.e. infrared film] like normal film and then feeling like a big corkhead.

cork-headed (adj.)

(US campus) arrogant, conceited.

1915

R. Bolwell ‘College Sl. Words And Phrases’ in DN IV:iii 232: cork-headed, adj. cocky, conceited.

draw a/the cork (v.)

see separate entries.

put a cork in it! (also take a cork!)

(US) shut up! be quiet!

1935		A.J. Pollock Und. Speaks n.p.: Take a cork, keep quiet, don’t talk; go mum.
1958		F. Norman Bang To Rights 49: The screw told the geezer to put a cork in it.
1965		(con. 1920s) Carmichael & Longstreet Sometimes I Wonder 155: Put a cork in it, Hoagy.
1969		J. Hibberd Dimboola (2000) 70: Put a cork in it, Aggie.
1983		N. Proffitt Gardens of Stone (1985) 102: Put a cork in it, Willow.
2000		Indep. Rev. 19 Feb. 20: Put a cork in it!
2021		L. McInerney Rules of Revelation 11: ’Ah, will you put a cork in it?’.