Whippersnapper is usually used in a much milder way, as by an older person in order to emphasize the youth of the person being addressed. It seems to have come from an earlier word, snippersnapper, which was first used, with the same meaning, in the late 1500s.
What does it mean when someone calls you a whipper snapper?
A whippersnapper is someone who is younger than you are but also irritatingly overconfident and impertinent, like your little smart aleck cousin. The word whippersnapper describes a specific kind of bratty, know-it-all kid, and it’s only used by an older person who is talking about a younger person.
When did whippersnapper become a word?
Whippersnapper — an impertinent young person — dates to 17th-century England. Apparently, it was fashionable for young idlers to stand around on street corners snapping whips. They were sometimes called “snipper-snappers.” Why young men stood around snapping whips I don’t know.
Is whippersnapper a British word?
whippersnapper Definitions and Synonyms
This is the British English definition of whippersnapper.
Is whippersnapper an insult?
If you refer to a young person as a whippersnapper, you disapprove of them because you think that they are behaving more confidently than they should.
What does the phrase old hand mean?
someone who is very experienced and skilled in a particular area of activity: We should be able to trust Silva to negotiate a good deal for us – he’s an old hand at the game. Synonyms. old-timer informal. veteran.
What is a Whipperginnie?
also whip-her-jenny [lit. whip her, Jenny; NB SE whipperginnie, a defunct card-game; a mythical ‘land’] a term of abuse for a woman. 1593.
Where does the saying horseplay come from?
A compound of horse + play, possibly from observation of boisterous horses playing, or from its attributive sense “strong, big or coarse”.
How do you spell whipper snipper?
Whipper-snipper definition
(Australia, Canada) A string trimmer.
Where does monkey off his back come from?
The origin of this idiom may be the stories of Sinbad, the earliest known works are from the seventeenth century. In one story, a creature described somewhat like an ape jumps on Sinbad’s back and will not get off. However, an older story attributed to Aesop involves a dolphin giving a monkey a ride through the water.
Where did the phrase hogwash come from?
From Middle English *hoggewasch (found only as Middle English hoggyswasch (“refuse of the kitchen for feeding pigs”, literally “hog’s wash”)), equivalent to hog + wash.
Where did the term muggy come from?
As far as its origin, it is thought to have come from the old Norse words mugen or mugga, which mean drizzle or mist, tying the term to humid conditions. Some other words used to describe this kind of condition include sticky, sultry, close and oppressive.
Is whipped meaning?
Slang. exhausted; tired; beat: After all that weeding, I’m whipped. Slang. excessively devoted to or controlled by one’s romantic partner.
What is denotation of yapping?
to bark sharply, shrilly, or snappishly; yelp. Slang. to talk shrilly, noisily, or foolishly. verb (used with object), yapped, yap·ping. to utter by yapping. noun.
What does the idiom itchy feet mean?
If you have itchy feet, you have a strong desire to leave a place and to travel. [informal] The trip gave me itchy feet and I wanted to travel more. See full dictionary entry for itchy.
What does sticking your neck out mean?
Today’s Phrase
If you stick your neck out, it means you take a risk by saying or doing something that other people might not like. Examples: John stuck his neck out and told the boss what we thought of him.
What does being under someone’s thumb mean?
under someone’s control or influence
“Under someone’s thumb” is an idiom that means “under someone’s control or influence.” It generally has a negative connotation and can imply that someone has been forced into a position where they have no control (“Federal regulators have investors under their thumb,” or “He had her under his thumb”).
What does a Ginnie mean?
Save to list. Girl. Italian, Welsh. Italian form of Guinevere, which is a French form of the Welsh Gwenhwyfar, from gwen, meaning “white, fair” and hwyfar, meaning “smooth, soft”.
What’s Ginnie mean?
The Government National Mortgage Association (or Ginnie Mae) is a government corporation within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Is Ginnie a word?
noun An obsolete spelling of guinea .
Is Dark horse a compliment?
If you describe someone as a dark horse, you mean that people know very little about them, although they may have recently had success or may be about to have success.