Dictionary of Phrase and Fable—N

Nugget of Gold

Nugget, a diminutive of nug or nog, as logget is of log. “A nog of sugar” (Scotch) is a lump, and a “nugget of gold” is a small lump. So a “log of wood” is a billet (Latin, lignum), and “loggets” (Norfolk) are sticks of toffy cut up into small lumps.

A correspondent in Notes and Queries says nog is a wooden ball used in the game of shinney. Nig, in Essex, means a “piece;” and a noggin of bread means a hunch.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
Nulla Linea
Nude
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