snipper-snapper

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English

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Etymology

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From late 16th c.[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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snipper-snapper (plural snipper-snappers)

  1. (colloquial, dated) A worthless or insignificant person.
    • 1883, Mary Jane Holmes, Queenie Hetherton: A Novel, page 406:
      Why, I thought you liked it immensely : women generally do; but it shows your good sense not to want to be stared at and written up by a lot of snipper-snappers.
    • 1914, Devabrata Mukherjee (translator), Rabindranath Tagore (original), The Post Office:
      Let me find him once and I'll make him dance. Oh, you snipper-snapper! I'll get the King's letter sent to your house indeed I will!

References

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  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “whipper-snapper”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Further reading

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