Tudor & Stuart · insult · noun
Jobbernowl
JOB-er-nole /ˈdʒɒbəˌnəʊl/pronunciation given by a dictionary
First recorded1592
A stupid person, a blockhead; also a mocking word for a big, thick, stupid-looking head. Probably from old 'jobard' (a simpleton) plus 'noll' (the head).
Where it was first recorded
Thomas Nashe, Four Letters Confuted (1592), per the New English Dictionary.
Also spelled: jobbernoll, jobbernole, jobbernol, iobbernoule, jabbernowl
In its own time
His guts are in his braines, huge Iobbernoule, Right Gurnets-head.
Today
Modern exampleAny jobbernowl could see the ladder was too short for the roof.
Fine to use; a rare, comic insult most people will have to look up.
Questions
What does jobbernowl mean?
A stupid person, a blockhead; also a mocking word for a big, thick, stupid-looking head. Probably from old 'jobard' (a simpleton) plus 'noll' (the head).
When was jobbernowl first used?
It is first recorded 1592 — Thomas Nashe, Four Letters Confuted (1592), per the New English Dictionary.
Can you still use jobbernowl today?
Fine to use; a rare, comic insult most people will have to look up.
Sources
- Jobbernowl — Murray's New English Dictionary (OED1), via World English Historical Dictionary
- Jobbernowl — World Wide Words (Michael Quinion)
- jobbernowl — Merriam-Webster
- A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words (vol. 2) — J. O. Halliwell
- Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 ed.) — Francis Grose (Project Gutenberg #5402)
- jobbernowl — Wiktionary
Checked 2026-09-30 · verdict: attested — found in the dictionaries and texts listed above