Jul. 20th, 2012

prettygoodword: text: words are sexy (Default)
emmet (EM-it) - n., (arch. & dial.) an ant; (Cornwall) a tourist, esp. an annoying one.

grockle (GRAW-kuhl) - n., (Devon) a tourist, esp. an annoying one.


The first goes back to Old English aemette, from the same Germanic root that also gave us ant, ultimate meaning being "something that bites." Its slang use dates to at least the 1970s. Grockle is of unknown origin, and dates to the 1960s. (Hat tip to World Wide Words for everything I know about these.)

---L.

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