noggin

use (one's) noggin

To use one's own intelligence and intellectual ability; to think logically and rationally. ("Noggin" here is slang for head or brain. Often said as an imperative.) Come on, Dean, I know you can figure this out on your own. Use your noggin for a change! I can't believe you were arrested for selling marijuana. What were you thinking? Why don't you use your noggin once in a while?

See also: noggin, use

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

use one's head

 and use one's noggin; use one's noodle

Fig. to use one's own intelligence. (The words noggin and noodle are slang terms for "head.") You can do better in math if you'll just use your head. Jane uses her noggin and gets things done correctly and on time. Yes, she sure knows how to use her noodle.

See also: head, use

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Use your head!

and Use your noggin! and Use your noodle!

exclam. Think!; Think it through! You know the answer. Use your head! Use your noggin’, dogg!

See also: use

Use your noggin!

verb

See Use your head!

See also: use

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.