Толковый словарь английского языка Oxford English Reference - nut

n. & v. --n. 1 a a fruit consisting of a hard or tough shell around an edible kernel. b this kernel. 2 a pod containing hard seeds. 3 a small usu. square or hexagonal flat piece of metal or other material with a threaded hole through it for screwing on the end of a bolt to secure it. 4 sl. a person's head. 5 sl. a a crazy or eccentric person. b an obsessive enthusiast or devotee (a health-food nut). 6 a small lump of coal, butter, etc. 7 a a device fitted to the bow of a violin for adjusting its tension. b the fixed ridge on the neck of a stringed instrument over which the strings pass. 8 (in pl.) coarse sl. the testicles. --v.intr. (nutted, nutting) seek or gather nuts (go nutting). Phrases and idioms do one's nut sl. be extremely angry or agitated. for nuts colloq. even tolerably well (cannot sing for nuts). nut cutlet a cutlet-shaped portion of meat-substitute, made from nuts etc. nut-house sl. a mental home or hospital. nut-oil an oil obtained from hazelnuts and walnuts and used in paints and varnishes. nuts and bolts colloq. the practical details. nut-tree any tree bearing nuts, esp. a hazel. off one's nut sl. crazy. Derivatives nutlike adj. Etymology: OE hnutu f. Gmc NUT abbr. (in the UK) National Union of Teachers.