snipper-snapper
English
Etymology
From late 16th c.[1]
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "RP" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈsnɪpəˌsnæpə/
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "US" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈsnɪpəɹˌsnæpəɹ/
Noun
snipper-snapper (plural snipper-snappers)
- (colloquial, dated) A small, insignificant fellow.
- 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.
Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “snipper-snapper”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)
References
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “whipper-snapper”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.