drongo
Any bird of the genus Dicrurus.
Noun
- Any bird of the genus Dicrurus.
Origin
From Malagasy drongo.
Forms
Derived
Noun Australia, New Zealand
- A fool, an idiot, a stupid fellow.
- In another story, the drongo is working for a farmer when the boss decides it is time to build another windmill. The drongo agrees to help but asks the farmer if he thinks it really makes sense to have two windmills....
- One drongo executive can do harm enough, but things get worse when they start recruiting people like themselves. - 2010, John Timpson, Upside Down Management: A Common Sense Guide to Better Business, unnumbered page:
- I'd rather sit in this daggy bathtub than get a hug from you, you drongo.. - 2020, "Moments of Silence", in Taskmaster, series 10, episode 8, Channel 4, script for Sam in The Smart Steak
Origin
From an Australian racehorse named Drongo, apparently after the bird (specifically, after the spangled drongo, Dicrurus bracteatus). The horse (foaled 1920, retired 1925) never won a race, and by transference anyone slow-witted or clumsy became a drongo. * Alternatively, from putative RAAF slang drongo (a recruit), similarly after the bird. * Another suggested derivation is the Scottish Gaelic drongair (“drunkard”).