Dickhead

[Baker, John]

        Might "dickhead" be a calque?  HDAS has 1962 and Merriam-Webster 1964.  However, it apparently is a much older term in Italian.  According to news reports, the Ashmolean Museum recently purchased a plate made by ceramicist Francesco Urbini in the 16th century and showing a head made up of around 50 fleshy penises.  The head is framed by a garland carrying the inscription: "Ogni homo me guarda come fosse una testa de cazi."   According to the Reuters account, this means "Every man looks at me as if I were a dickhead"; the phrase is still a common term of abuse in Italy and elsewhere, according to Reuters.  The link is

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030918/od_nm/plate_dc_1


John Baker