addlepated

addlepated

English

Etymology

addle +‎ pated

Adjective

addlepated (comparative more addlepated, superlative most addlepated) (possessional)

1. Addled; confused; stupid; flustered.
   • 1630, John Taylor, “Plutoes Proclamation concerning his Infernall pleasure for the Propagation of Tobacco” in All the Workes of John Taylor the Water-Poet, London: James Boler, p. 252,

     Let euery idle addle-pated gull

     With stinking sweet Tobacco stuffe his skull.

   • 1908, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables, Boston: L.C. Page, Chapter 16, p. 169,

     “ […] I don’t really know if I’m doing right—it may make you more addle-pated than ever—but you can ask Diana to come over and spend the afternoon with you and have tea here.”

   • 1989, John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany, New York: William Morrow, Chapter 9, p. 456,

     “Do you actually expect me to wander the world as if I were an addlepated bald woman escaped from the circus?” she would say.

   • February 14, 2018, Charles Solomon in the LA Times, Nick Park is back in the stop-motion animation game with 'Early Man'

     His best-known creations are the addlepated, cheese-loving inventor Wallace, and Gromit, his patient, intelligent dog.

Alternative forms

• addle-pated