▪ I. neddy
(ˈnɛdɪ)
[dim. of Ned, a familiar abbrev. of the name Edward: see -y4.]
1. a. A donkey.
| a 1790 Potter Dict. Cant (1795), Neddy, a jackass. 1794 Wolcot (P. Pindar) Rowland for Oliver Wks. 1816 II. 119 Thou think'st thyself on Pegasus so steady; But, Peter, thou art mounted on a Neddy. 1858 C. M. Yonge Christmas Mummers 5 There is old Harry Spinner's grey donkey..and Mrs. Brown's handsome Neddy. 1894 Baring-Gould Kitty Alone III. 19 The neddy is in the stable here, and there is his cart. |
| transf. 1866 Blackmore Cradock Nowell lvii. (1883) 400 A beautiful schooner of the true American rig, which made such lagging neddies of our yachts a few years since. |
b. A fool, a simpleton.
| 1823 ‘J. Bee’ Slang 124 Neddy—sometimes ‘ass-neger’, other names for jackass—the living emblem of patience and long suffering. 1853 Thackeray Newcomes (1854) I. i. 4 All types of all characters march through all fables:..victims and bullies; dupes and knaves; long-eared Neddies, giving themselves leonine airs. 1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northamptonshire Words II. 49 What a neddy you must be, to do that! 1963 L. Deighton Horse under Water xlix. 212 ‘I'm sorry,’ he said, ‘you must think I'm a terrible neddie.’ |
c. Austral. slang. A horse, esp. a racehorse.
| 1900 [see bag n. 18 c (a)]. 1918 B. Cronin Coastlanders 74 A hot cinder lit on my neddie's rump. 1965 W. Dick Bunch of Ratbags 40 My old man was backing the neddies as usual. |
2. Cant. A life-preserver.
| 1864 Cornh. Mag. VI. 647 The weapon is generally a ‘neddy’ or life-preserver. 1879 Macm. Mag. XL. 503/1 We shall want..the stick (crow-bar), and bring a Neddie (life-preserver) with you. |
3. [Properly a different word.] colloq. name for the National Economic Development Council. Also, one of its sub-committees. Also attrib.
| 1962 Engineering 1 June 729/2 Since poor Neddy was formed everyone seems to be jumping on to his band wagon. 1963 Times 11 June 6/6 The great significance of Neddy is that it is the first time in this country that a concerted effort has been made by the Government, management and the unions to set the country moving on a course which can be steadily sustained. 1964 Financial Times 8 Sept., We shall deal with them [sc. problems]..most of all through N.E.D.C., which we shall retain, and the regional and industrial Neddies. 1966 Times 14 May 17/6 Two little neddies are due to meet, wool on Tuesday and mechanical engineering on Thursday. 1968 W. Davis Three Years Hard Labour i. iv. 50 The so-called ‘Little Neddies’. These were Councils for individual industries, designed to bridge the gap between Whitehall and industry. 1968 Times 18 Apr. 21/7 A Neddy-sponsored questionnaire sent out to 2,000 firms in the wool trade, is the first phase of a {pstlg}80,000 survey designed to establish the competitiveness of the British wool textile industry. 1969 Times 30 Apr. 25/4 New chairman for building Neddy... A new chairman for the building and civil engineering economic development committees has been found. |
▪ II. neddy, neddyr
obs. ff. needy, adder.