Talk:earthworm
Deletion discussion[edit]
The following information has failed Wiktionary's verification process.
Failure to be verified means that insufficient eligible citations of this usage have been found, and the entry therefore does not meet Wiktionary inclusion criteria at the present time. We have archived here the disputed information, the verification discussion, and any documentation gathered so far, pending further evidence.
Do not re-add this information to the article without also submitting proof that it meets Wiktionary's criteria for inclusion.
Rfv-sense: A disparaging reference to a person, particularly one who grovels.
I am not familiar with this in contemporary English, though worm is certainly possible, if perhaps dated. Webster 1913 has "A mean, sordid person; a niggard. Norris." I can't find a quotation from Norris, except in a dictionary, where is seemed "poetic", a merely literary metaphor. MWOnline dropped it. OED? DCDuring TALK 20:31, 24 January 2013 (UTC)
- It seems to me that any insect or worm name can be used as a disparaging reference to a person, particularly one who grovels. bd2412 T 15:30, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
- "You ladybug, you." "What a centipede." "Lower than a bumblebee."
- In any event it is a matter of verification. DCDuring TALK 16:42, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
- In that case, I would say that six months without a response requires this sense to be deleted as unverified. bd2412 T 17:08, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
- The number of gbook hits for grovelling earthworm leads me to conclude that the only reason this has not been cited is laziness and disinterest rather than a dubious definition. SpinningSpark 19:15, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
- When I enclose "grovelling earthworm" in quotes I get a large number of usages that refer to literal earth-worms, others that seem mere metaphors. At best this is a dated literary expression. But I don't see the cites to support it as given. DCDuring TALK 20:00, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
- I, too, am often shocked at the laziness and disinterest of contributors and discussants. They seem almost like humans in their behavior. DCDuring TALK 20:04, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
- Perhaps I should have said, "many insect or worm names" can be used as a disparaging reference to a person. Gnat, mosquito, nightcrawler, maggot, cockroach, etc. Henry Fielding has a "grovelling maggot" and one George Marshall Sloan has a "grovelling centipede". However, I see no evidence that "earthworm" unadorned implies "grovelling". bd2412 T 12:42, 30 July 2013 (UTC)
- Clocked out DCDuring TALK 02:52, 18 August 2013 (UTC)
- Perhaps I should have said, "many insect or worm names" can be used as a disparaging reference to a person. Gnat, mosquito, nightcrawler, maggot, cockroach, etc. Henry Fielding has a "grovelling maggot" and one George Marshall Sloan has a "grovelling centipede". However, I see no evidence that "earthworm" unadorned implies "grovelling". bd2412 T 12:42, 30 July 2013 (UTC)
- I, too, am often shocked at the laziness and disinterest of contributors and discussants. They seem almost like humans in their behavior. DCDuring TALK 20:04, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
- When I enclose "grovelling earthworm" in quotes I get a large number of usages that refer to literal earth-worms, others that seem mere metaphors. At best this is a dated literary expression. But I don't see the cites to support it as given. DCDuring TALK 20:00, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
- The number of gbook hits for grovelling earthworm leads me to conclude that the only reason this has not been cited is laziness and disinterest rather than a dubious definition. SpinningSpark 19:15, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
- In that case, I would say that six months without a response requires this sense to be deleted as unverified. bd2412 T 17:08, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
Sense deleted. bd2412 T 15:26, 21 August 2013 (UTC)
The following information has failed Wiktionary's verification process (permalink).
Failure to be verified means that insufficient eligible citations of this usage have been found, and the entry therefore does not meet Wiktionary inclusion criteria at the present time. We have archived here the disputed information, the verification discussion, and any documentation gathered so far, pending further evidence.
Do not re-add this information to the article without also submitting proof that it meets Wiktionary's criteria for inclusion.
Rfv-sense: (figuratively) Death.
Worm, yes; earthworm, I think not. DCDuring TALK 13:06, 10 March 2016 (UTC)
- RFV failed. —Mr. Granger (talk • contribs) 12:14, 29 June 2016 (UTC)