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Looking for both a journalistic and perhaps playful term. In a journalistic sense, how would I describe a CEO figure who holds a company meeting and the employees are either annoyed, bored, or rolling their eyes the entire time he talks.

In a playful sense, a similar personality walks into my office, but is the context is such that I can make the comment aloud, such as, "oh god, there goes my chance to get any work done", but in a declarative sense: "here comes the ..."

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  • A "playful" insult to your boss could result in a "playful" termination!
    – Oldcat
    Feb 6, 2014 at 18:46
  • A nuisance? a pain in the neck? a pest?
    – Louel
    Feb 6, 2014 at 18:59
  • 1
    Thanks for all suggestions so far. At the risk of sounding silly, another situational description would be the Star Trek character Lwaxana Troi. Whenever she would appear, Captain Picard would roll his eyes and try to hide and avoid her, not so much because of her loquacity, but because of her boisterousness and larger-than-life self-imposition...yet it was a comic relationship
    – mdisibio
    Feb 7, 2014 at 15:59
  • And then there was how he'd react when Q showed up :)
    – JenSCDC
    Oct 25, 2014 at 22:37
  • Tongue-in-cheek - 'the mother-in-law'.
    – TrevorD
    May 10, 2016 at 15:55

6 Answers 6

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Bore would fit.

: one that causes boredom: as
a : a tiresome person
b : something that is devoid of interest

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bore

You can find in other dictionaries and it is a journalistic term as well.

Whether or no a banker ought to be murdered for being a bore, we all know what we mean when we say that he is a bore.

[The Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton, Vol. 36: The Illustrated London News By G. K. Chesterton (2011)]

Also, there is a slang word that may fit: melter

Someone who continuely annoys or irritates someone through speech (usually), this is "melting" them.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=melter

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  • "Melter" is new to me but the definition at Urban Dict seems very close to what I am looking for.
    – mdisibio
    Feb 7, 2014 at 15:41
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A windbag is a person who talks at length but has little of use to say. (An alternate word would be gasbag.) There are a lot of synonyms for windbag that are available as general reference (here and here, as examples). Windbag is a critical or insulting word.

Prattler might be the most serious synonym that you can use in a journalistic setting. It still is a critical adjective.

Chatterbox might fit in between these two.

If you want to be less unflattering, then talkative and overly talkative might work.

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A word often used in this specific instance - to describe such a person from upper management, is Seagull.

It is because they fly in, make a lot of noise, steal your food, cover you in muck and fly out again.

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    I've never actually heard "seagull" used in that context, but I do like the analogy!
    – mdisibio
    Feb 7, 2014 at 15:42
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How about "Here comes good old prolixity!"? or 'prolixity incarnate'?

Alright - how about 'Here come the old windbag.'?

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  • That does correspond to the kind of phrase I am seeking....but maybe more emphasis on the annoyance caused by the imposition of the person on those around him, rather than his talkitiveness per se...
    – mdisibio
    Feb 6, 2014 at 18:35
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I usually refer to such people differently based on their gender... Men who I find myself avoiding are generally the holy rollers or speech spillers. Women who are abraisive or annoying are mostly the princesses or queen babies. I use two words... Single word descriptions are more offensive on average.j

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  • The two word vs one word could spark a whole other discussion, couldn't it?! I like the "holy roller" suggestion as well. A bit too specific (emphasis on "preachy"), but in the ballpark.
    – mdisibio
    Oct 27, 2014 at 14:05
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I’m not sure exactly what you’re asking for.  annoying, boring and unbelievable are not synonymous.  And, up until the very last sentence of your question, it seemed that you could be asking for an adjective.

If an adjective is acceptable to you, consider the ones I mentioned above, and:

  • irritating

    causing annoyance or anger

    irritate:  To cause (someone) to feel impatient or angry; annoy: a loud, bossy voice that irritates listeners.

  • abrasive

    tending to annoy or cause ill will; overly aggressive: an abrasive personality.

  • belligerent

    angry and aggressive : feeling or showing readiness to fight

  • incredible

    difficult or impossible to believe

  • grating

    irritating or unpleasant to one’s feelings.

  • tiresome

    annoying or vexatious.

Scott Adams (the creator of Dilbert) offers cubicle vampire; see also this.

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