Who is his nibs

May be an abbreviation of a title,trouble is I cant think what. Regional differences? I grew up in southeastern Massachusetts. Reading around the comments, I imagine it was an affectionate reference to his wife who has a high-ranking position. It possibly subverted an historic meaning in that rather than being an important person, it was used against someone who either thought they were important, or else someone who was a complete fool. Yes, I agree with all you said. His nibs was most definitely a derogative term meaning someone who thought too much of himself.

I think there may well be something in what you say. This is a very old term, which probably dates back to the origins of cribbage. This is the most enjoyable and funny Word Exploration I have witnessed in quite some time.. By the way I encountered the phrase watching an old episode of Cheers where Carla used it. It was almost always used sarcastically to describe a person full of self importance. My mother used the term quite frequently just as described by Mr.

One for His Nibs! I played cribbage in e. We played with cards, dice, and dominoes. The trick is to score exactly You score one point for playing the last card that is less or equal to When asked who His Nibs is, grandad would show me the Jack of? I hope you find this anecdote interesting. It is one of my very early, treasured, memories. My Dad who would be 97 if alive used the expression too. Just because someone was born well does not mean they are intelligent or well-meaning, therefore a mockery of their position.

I speak entirely from memory here, so I may well be mistaken. Therefore the large numbers of pseudonims under which that dark gentleman shelters.

So, if you refered to any one in a pposition of authority over you as "his nibs," you were being rather more than disrepectful. So far as cribbage is concerned and I think TED might support me over this the term for a the point gained for having a Knave or Jack of the same suit as the turn-up is either "One for his Nob" or "One for his head", whereas the term for turning the Knave up is "Two for his heels. Re: the devil to pay. Joined: Sep Collins notes as some other sources that nib can be traced to a meaning of beak, but also draws a veil over the phrase in 19th c.

Word Detective is only slightly more specific: Another hour or two among my trusty and dusty reference books produced not just the origin of "his nibs," but interesting connections to several other words as well. Along with an earlier form "nabs," "nibs" was based on "nob," an alternate spelling of "knob" and an 18th century slang term for "head.

Some of the uncertainty about "nibs" and its relatives is due to their being filtered through 17th century thieves' cant, where meanings were often deliberately obscured to confuse the polic. Re: His Nibs. Joined: Jun Utter Placebo, Planet Reebok.

I've always assumed that it just "grew" into use. It rolls trippingly off the tongue, so whoever first coined the expression - from whatever initial source - probably provided people with an expression which was needed and fit the bill very well.

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Origin of nibs First recorded in —25; origin uncertain. Words related to nibs snout , deadline , edge , point , term , top , fountain pen , marker , stick , coloration , hue , tint , tone , element , footprint , fragment , hint , indication , particle , proof.