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]