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snollygoster. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
snollygoster, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
snollygoster in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology
19th-century American English. Possibly from snallygaster, a mythical beast that preys on poultry and children; possibly from Pennsylvania German schnelle geeschter, from German schnell (“quick”) + Geist (“spirit”).
Largely obsolete, it briefly resurfaced in 2009 in Britain as part of a debate over MPs' expenses.[1]
Noun
snollygoster (plural snollygosters)
- (slang, obsolete) A shrewd person not guided by principles, especially a politician.
2009 May 19, “Tory issues apology after calling Labour rival a "c***"”, in Mirror, retrieved 2014-02-06:[…] I called for him to publish his expenses so that all Gloucester voters could see that he isn't a snollygoster […]
, volume 712, retrieved 2021-05-13:[…] I recently discovered the word “snollygoster”: not a character from “Harry Potter”, but an unprincipled person in office motivated by personal rather than public gain.]
Translations
shrewd person not guided by principles
- Japanese: ずる賢い人（ずるがしこいひと, zurugashikoi hito）
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References
- ^ Elizabeth Knowles (2010 October 28) How to Read a Word, OUP Oxford, →ISBN, page 65