nūgae — Lewis & Short
nūgae, ārum, f.etym. dub.; old form naugae; cf.: naucum, nux,
I jokes, jests, idle speeches, trifles, trumpery, nonsense (syn. ineptiae).
I Lit.:
aufer nugas,away with your jesting, Plaut. Truc. 4, 4, 7:
nugas postulare,id. Trin. 2, 4, 40; id. Truc. 2, 1, 20; id. Merc. 2, 4, 1:
huncine hominem tantis delectatum esse nugis?Cic. Div. 2, 13, 30. —Hence, nugas agere, to play the fool:
nisi argentum dederit, nugas egerit,Plaut. Men. prol. 54; so,
maximas nugas agis,id. As. 1, 1, 78;
and ellipt. without ago: quo illum sequar? in Persas? nugas,nonsense! id. Pers. 4, 7, 7; id. Most. 5, 1, 38.—Of verses, trifles:
nescio quid meditans nugarum,Hor. S. 1, 9, 2; cf. Cat. 1, 4; Mart. 9, 1, 5 (cf. also:
versūs et cetera ludicra,Hor. Ep. 1, 1, 10).—Of the songs of hired female mourners at a funeral:
haec sunt non nugae: non enim mortualia,Plaut. As. 4, 1, 63.—Acc. to Nonius, Plautus called women's finery nugae, Non. 144, 30; v. nugivendus. —
II Transf. (abstr. pro concreto), jesters, jokers, droll fellows:
amicos habet meras nugas,Cic. Att. 6, 3, 5:
ego Hephaestum ... Niciam, ego nugas maximas omni meā comitate sum complexus,id. Q. Fr. 1, 2, 2 comites Graeculi, quocumque ibat:
tum in comitatu nugarum nihil,id. Mil. 21, 55.