noddy

Noddy \Nod"dy\, n.; pl. {Noddies}. [Prob. fr. nod to incline the
   head, either as in assent, or from drowsiness.]
   1. A simpleton; a fool. --L'Estrange.

   Syn: tomnoddy.
        [1913 Webster]

   2. (Zool.)
      (a) Any tern of the genus {Anous}, as {Anous stolidus}.
      (b) The arctic fulmar ({Fulmarus glacialis}). Sometimes
          also applied to other sea birds.
          [1913 Webster]

   3. An old game at cards. --Halliwell.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. A small two-wheeled one-horse vehicle.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. An inverted pendulum consisting of a short vertical flat
      spring which supports a rod having a bob at the top; --
      used for detecting and measuring slight horizontal
      vibrations of a body to which it is attached.
      [1913 Webster]
    

noddy
 /nod'ee/, adj.

   [UK: from the children's books]

   1. Small and un-useful, but demonstrating a point. Noddy programs are
   often written by people learning a new language or system. The
   archetypal noddy program is {hello world}. Noddy code may be used to
   demonstrate a feature or bug of a compiler. May be used of real
   hardware or software to imply that it isn't worth using. "This
   editor's a bit noddy."

   2. A program that is more or less instant to produce. In this use, the
   term does not necessarily connote uselessness, but describes a {hack}
   sufficiently trivial that it can be written and debugged while
   carrying on (and during the space of) a normal conversation. "I'll
   just throw together a noddy {awk} script to dump all the first
   fields." In North America this might be called a {mickey mouse
   program}. See {toy program}.
    

noddy

   /nod'ee/ [UK: from the children's books] 1. Small and
   un-useful, but demonstrating a point.  Noddy programs are
   often written by people learning a new language or system.
   The archetypal noddy program is {hello, world}.  Noddy code
   may be used to demonstrate a feature or bug of a compiler.
   May be used of real hardware or software to imply that it
   isn't worth using.  "This editor's a bit noddy."

   2. A program that is more or less instant to produce.  In this
   use, the term does not necessarily connote uselessness, but
   describes a {hack} sufficiently trivial that it can be written
   and debugged while carrying on (and during the space of) a
   normal conversation.  "I'll just throw together a noddy {awk}
   script to dump all the first fields."  In North America this
   might be called a {mickey mouse program}.  See {toy program}.

   3. A simple (hence the name) language to handle text and
   interaction on the {Memotech} home computer.  Has died with
   the machine.

   [{Jargon File}]