loon1
noun luːnlun
informal A silly or foolish person.
if only she weren't such a lovesick loon- Not to be outdone, Adams takes over drumming duties, grinning like a loon.
- It is de rigueur to ridicule them - of course they are laughable loons!
- Advice: do not wear and use hands-free kits for phones after dark unless you want people to think that you are a total loon.
- Instead of discussing the points he raises - points where most reasonable people would say reasonable people can disagree - you've all turned loons.
- What's important to you may not be important to anyone else, and what's important to me may make you think I'm a loon.
- I'm aware that's an unpopular thing to say, and that many consider him a loon.
- And I'd cheer too, waving like a loon from the sidelines.
- This is probably because we're not paranoid loons desperate for any pretext to start a fight.
- Our local happy loons have nominated a sacrifice candidate to stand for Parliament - though they're a little unclear as to which electorate.
- ‘Yes, ma'am,’ said our director, grinning like a loon.
- The feeling of take-off makes me grin like a loon.
- They have the tendency to wear loud shirts and smile at you like loons.
- We used to date sisters and we're both crazy as loons, so we have that much in common.
- Prizes should be delivered to the TV director who cut to their box in time to catch him grinning like a loon, boffing a balloon about with his feet and hands.
- ‘Alright then,’ said I and followed him into my parent's sitting room where he plinked and plonked what can only be described as ‘radical jazz’ on the piano and I danced around like a loon.
- Here, a sheepish young yakuza is ordered to kill his insane boss but things go awry when his elder disappears in a town full of loons, zombies, and halfwits.
- And yes, we jumped up and down and hugged like absolute loons.
- And for another, hanging them on your lapel makes you look like a dork, or worse yet a loon.
- I love this comic, despite the fact Sim has degenerated into a frothing loon.
- The 21-year-old waitress said: ‘I'm a bit of a loon but I think my personality will be perfect for a girl group as I'm great at getting everyone to laugh.’
idiot, ass, halfwit, nincompoop, blockhead, buffoon, dunce, dolt, ignoramus, cretin, imbecile, dullard, moron, simpleton, clod
Origin
Late 19th century: from loon2 (referring to the bird's actions when escaping from danger), perhaps influenced by loony.
This word for ‘a silly person’ comes from the North American loon (mid 17th century), a large water bird also known as a diver. It gets its name from its distinctive cry. The sense silly is from the bird's actions when escaping from danger; perhaps influenced by loony, a mid 19th-century abbreviation of lunatic (Middle English) from Latin luna ‘moon. In the past people thought that the phases of the moon could affect people.
Rhymes
afternoon, attune, autoimmune, baboon, balloon, bassoon, bestrewn, boon, Boone, bridoon, buffoon, Cameroon, Cancún, cardoon, cartoon, Changchun, cocoon, commune, croon, doubloon, dragoon, dune, festoon, galloon, goon, harpoon, hoon, immune, importune, impugn, Irgun, jejune, June, Kowloon, lagoon, lampoon, macaroon, maroon, monsoon, moon, Muldoon, noon, oppugn, picayune, platoon, poltroon, pontoon, poon, prune, puccoon, raccoon, Rangoon, ratoon, rigadoon, rune, saloon, Saskatoon, Sassoon, Scone, soon, spittoon, spoon, swoon, Troon, tune, tycoon, typhoon, Walloon
loon2
noun luːnlun
A large diving waterbird with a sleek black or grey head, a straight pointed bill, and short legs set far back under the body; a diver.
- All other birds, from loons and penguins to woodpeckers and sparrows, are placed together in the third main lineage, the Neoaves.
- Flamingos are conceded by all to be closely linked to pelicans, albatrosses, loons, probably penguins, and the like - the charadriomorph lineage.
- Only those who have heard the sound of a loon or a wolf call can truly sympathise with the poet about the beauty of the sound: ‘The wolves howl with a loneliness that is only theirs.’
- This year, the artists showcased their talent with birds for a theme competition, each displaying the delicate feathers of every bird, from eagles to loons.
- Some interesting exceptions to the correlation between body size and pneumaticity occur in birds that dive underwater to feed, such as grebes, loons, and penguins.
- Red-throated Loons breed farther north than any other loon.
- The first, innocuous shower stroked the lake's surface but, when the wind came up, the loons began to call madly.
- Studies show that more than 55 percent of loon deaths in the Northeast are caused by lead tackle, which has also proven fatal to at least two dozen other species, including bald eagles that eat contaminated prey.
- In modern divers, such as the penguin and loon, the wings are also shaped so that the surface presented to the water is a smooth, hydrodynamic curve.
- Few if any fish survive in acid lakes, so loons have less food for their young.
Origin
Mid 17th century: probably by alteration of Shetland dialect loom, denoting especially a guillemot or a diver, from Old Norse.
loon3
verb luːnlun
British informal no object, with adverbial Act in a foolish or desultory way.
he decided to loon around London- Then again, the man who turned looning into a full-time career generally looks quite vacant.
- We'd set the bands gear up and generally idle the afternoon away in the bar playing pool, looning around on the beach, and hanging out in various cafés dotted around town before the serious business of playing heavy metal started in the evening.
- The group consisted of everyone from complete novices through to experienced riders, this made for a great sociable chilled out day of looning around in the woods.
- I had looned and lazied my way through physical childhood and the misfortune of a crazed adolescence.
Origin
1960s: of unknown origin.
loon1
nounlunlo͞on
informal A silly or foolish person.
if only she weren't such a lovesick loon- This is probably because we're not paranoid loons desperate for any pretext to start a fight.
- Advice: do not wear and use hands-free kits for phones after dark unless you want people to think that you are a total loon.
- The feeling of take-off makes me grin like a loon.
- ‘Alright then,’ said I and followed him into my parent's sitting room where he plinked and plonked what can only be described as ‘radical jazz’ on the piano and I danced around like a loon.
- Instead of discussing the points he raises - points where most reasonable people would say reasonable people can disagree - you've all turned loons.
- They have the tendency to wear loud shirts and smile at you like loons.
- And I'd cheer too, waving like a loon from the sidelines.
- And yes, we jumped up and down and hugged like absolute loons.
- What's important to you may not be important to anyone else, and what's important to me may make you think I'm a loon.
- Not to be outdone, Adams takes over drumming duties, grinning like a loon.
- Our local happy loons have nominated a sacrifice candidate to stand for Parliament - though they're a little unclear as to which electorate.
- ‘Yes, ma'am,’ said our director, grinning like a loon.
- Here, a sheepish young yakuza is ordered to kill his insane boss but things go awry when his elder disappears in a town full of loons, zombies, and halfwits.
- The 21-year-old waitress said: ‘I'm a bit of a loon but I think my personality will be perfect for a girl group as I'm great at getting everyone to laugh.’
- I'm aware that's an unpopular thing to say, and that many consider him a loon.
- It is de rigueur to ridicule them - of course they are laughable loons!
- I love this comic, despite the fact Sim has degenerated into a frothing loon.
- We used to date sisters and we're both crazy as loons, so we have that much in common.
- And for another, hanging them on your lapel makes you look like a dork, or worse yet a loon.
- Prizes should be delivered to the TV director who cut to their box in time to catch him grinning like a loon, boffing a balloon about with his feet and hands.
idiot, ass, halfwit, nincompoop, blockhead, buffoon, dunce, dolt, ignoramus, cretin, imbecile, dullard, moron, simpleton, clod
Origin
Late 19th century: from loon (referring to the bird's actions when escaping from danger), perhaps influenced by loony.
loon2
nounlunlo͞on
North American A large diving waterbird with a sleek black or gray head, a straight pointed bill, and short legs set far back under the body. Loons breed by lakes in northern latitudes and have wailing calls.
Family Gaviidae and genus Gavia: five species, including the common loon (G. immer) of both Canada and Eurasia
British term diver (sense 2)- Red-throated Loons breed farther north than any other loon.
- Flamingos are conceded by all to be closely linked to pelicans, albatrosses, loons, probably penguins, and the like - the charadriomorph lineage.
- Few if any fish survive in acid lakes, so loons have less food for their young.
- The first, innocuous shower stroked the lake's surface but, when the wind came up, the loons began to call madly.
- This year, the artists showcased their talent with birds for a theme competition, each displaying the delicate feathers of every bird, from eagles to loons.
- Only those who have heard the sound of a loon or a wolf call can truly sympathise with the poet about the beauty of the sound: ‘The wolves howl with a loneliness that is only theirs.’
- Studies show that more than 55 percent of loon deaths in the Northeast are caused by lead tackle, which has also proven fatal to at least two dozen other species, including bald eagles that eat contaminated prey.
- Some interesting exceptions to the correlation between body size and pneumaticity occur in birds that dive underwater to feed, such as grebes, loons, and penguins.
- In modern divers, such as the penguin and loon, the wings are also shaped so that the surface presented to the water is a smooth, hydrodynamic curve.
- All other birds, from loons and penguins to woodpeckers and sparrows, are placed together in the third main lineage, the Neoaves.
Origin
Mid 17th century: probably by alteration of Shetland dialect loom, denoting especially a guillemot or a diver, from Old Norse.
loon3
verblunlo͞on
British informal no object, with adverbial Act in a foolish or desultory way.
he decided to loon around London- Then again, the man who turned looning into a full-time career generally looks quite vacant.
- The group consisted of everyone from complete novices through to experienced riders, this made for a great sociable chilled out day of looning around in the woods.
- I had looned and lazied my way through physical childhood and the misfortune of a crazed adolescence.
- We'd set the bands gear up and generally idle the afternoon away in the bar playing pool, looning around on the beach, and hanging out in various cafés dotted around town before the serious business of playing heavy metal started in the evening.
Origin
1960s: of unknown origin.