English

Etymology

From chowder + head. One might be a chowder-head if one doesn't use one's brains effectively, which would give others the opinion that one has clam-chowder for brains.

Alternative spellings

• chowder head
• chowder-head

Noun

1. An idiot; a dummy.

   Did you seriously think that was gonna work? You magnificent chowderhead! I saw that coming miles away!

Quotations

• 1943: (published 1990) John Fitzgerald Kennedy (Paul Fussell ed.), The Norton Book of Modern War http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0393029093&id=lT9uYX9etdoC&pg=PA469&lpg=PA469&dq=chowder-head+date:1500-1999&sig=QOHD1gnvCzGFrdQqwkSsQXUaGKM

  Something has happened to Squadron Air Mail-none has come in for the last two weeks. Some chowder-head sent it to the wrong island.

• 2003: Thomas Petchel, Java 2 Game Programming http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN1931841071&id=batQqRGl-i0C&pg=RA25-PA7&lpg=RA25-PA7&dq=chowderhead&sig=qS9IqKpqBW9rPuHwRRD1LyI43sI

  Now when you run the program, you should get output similar to the following: Attempt to access array out of bounds, chowderhead!

• 2003: Kay Rizzo, Bells and Whistles http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0816319847&id=FdcKbeuVlToC&pg=PA60&lpg=PA60&dq=chowder-head&sig=8nuLuBnJYboylR_vrkGqFvXKm8A

  "And she called me a chowder head!" The boy's eyes flashed with anger.

  Mr. Mays held Elizabeth at arm's length. "Is that true? Did you call your brother a chowder head?"

Synonyms

• dunce
• dumbo
• pea brain