Words & TermsPeople and character
drongo
Also: none established
A fool or incompetent person.
In a sentence
Only a drongo would leave the gate open in this wind.
Where it came from
The insult is generally linked to Drongo, an Australian racehorse of the early 1920s that repeatedly came close but never won. The name spread from unlucky horses to no-hopers and fools, and is recorded in this sense by 1941.
- First recorded
- 1941
- Initial era
- 1900–1949
- Where used
- Australia-wide