Word of the Day: FLOCK-PATED

ETYMOLOGY
from flock (material consisting of the coarse tufts and refuse of wool or cotton, used for quilting garments, and stuffing beds, cushions, mattresses, etc.) + pated (having a head or mind of the specified kind)

EXAMPLE
“…He that would be a Scholler,
Must hate your drinks that is muddy:
But a cup of good Canary
Will make him the better to study.
O this is a good old Woman, etc.

And he that would be a Poet,
Must no wayes be flocke-pated:
His ignorance if he show it,
He shall of all Schollers be hated.
O this is a good old Woman, etc.

He that would be a Goodfellow,
Of meanes must be prepared:
If that he love drinke and Tobacco,
Or else he shall be jeared.
O this is a good old Woman, etc. ….”

From: “The Merry Old Woman”, c1640
In The Roxburghe Ballads, Ballad Society, 1869-99