dill pickle

English

Etymology

From dill +‎ pickle.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

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Noun

dill pickle (plural dill pickles)

1. A cucumber pickled in brine or vinegar flavored with dill and other seasonings.
2. (slang, US, dated) A foolish person. [early 20th c.]
   • 1977 [c. 1908], Harry Conway Fisher, edited by Bill Blackbeard, A. Mutt, a Complete Compilation, 1907-1908, page 47:

     Shortribs Enlivens Court Proceedings by Calling Beany a “Dill Pickle”

   • 2010 [1918], Robert W. Chambers, The Laughing Girl, page 278:

     Wasn't I the big dill-pickle to stake 'em to a Greek revolution.

   • 2012 [1917], Robert W. Chambers, The Dark Star, page 96:

     "Ah—" he exclaimed angrily, "somebody tell me why I don't quit you, you big dill pickle!"

   • 2015, Ján Košturiak, Everyday Reflections, page 20:

     One famous American company employs such “dill pickles” only in their purchasing division.

   • 2017 November 13, Jennifer Kincheloe, “Jupiter! Why I Love 1900s Slang”, in Criminal Element‎^[1]:

     He’d make a spanking fine husband, but Anna’s no dill pickle. She knows marriage means obedience.

Synonyms

• (pickled cucumber): dill; pickle; gherkin
• (foolish person): see Thesaurus:fool