93
votes
What Are Some Pejorative Terms for the Words "Boat" or "Ship"?
Calling a ship a boat, is sometimes considered derisive. Also, calling a type of boat by the name of another type of boat is sometimes considered insulting by its owner. If the boat is a man's mid-...
- 4,046
92
votes
What Are Some Pejorative Terms for the Words "Boat" or "Ship"?
A scow.
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/scow
Definition #3:
an old or clumsy boat; hulk; tub.
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76
votes
Is there a word for the joy a smart aleck feels when they point out to other people how stupid they are?
I'd say "smug" which means self-satisfaction, but is also often associated with a particularly condescending facial expression. And with your specific comment about the smile, something like this:
"...
- 6,623
45
votes
A derogatory term for a book or other printed material
As a well-read AE native speaker, I've never heard of "pap", so I can't recommend it for a general audience. I like "birdcage liner" - quite evocative - but honestly, the most direct expression is the ...
- 673
41
votes
What Are Some Pejorative Terms for the Words "Boat" or "Ship"?
One epithet for a boat that seldom leaves port is 'an expensive hole in the water'.
- 3,702
37
votes
Do linguists have a noun for referring to pieces of commendatory language, as a sort of antonym of 'pejoratives'?
Laudatives.
Laudatives are words or grammatical forms that denote a positive affect. That is, they express praise or approval on the part of the speaker. Laudatory words are rare in English compared ...
- 17k
36
votes
Word for lying while bragging/boasting
A possible idiom is "trumping [it] up". From Merriam-Webster:
Definition of trump up
transitive verb
1: to concoct especially with intent to deceive : fabricate, invent
2 archaic: to ...
- 527
36
votes
Is "allopathy" pejorative?
The word has no real meaning outside of the context of homeopathy. It's rather pejorative in that context. It's rather irrelevant in any other.
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34
votes
Accepted
Alternative term for 'smoke test'
Critical Power-On Failure Test
The system or component tested failed to meet basic power-on requirements, and was unable to be safely activated. No further tests were performed.
Being the son of a ...
- 426
32
votes
Derogatory term for people from places like San Francisco
City slicker
informal, derogatory
A person with the sophistication and values generally associated with
urban dwellers. (Oxford Living Dictionaries)
someone who lives in a city and does not ...
- 1,126
32
votes
Why are the French pejoratively referred to as frogs?
The OED says we’re not completely sure, but it may in part have started as a reference to the wet and marshy Low Countries and then later reïnforced by the shared initial consonant cluster between ...
- 137k
32
votes
Is "Fredo" an insult to Italian-Americans?
In my estimation, it all amounts to nothing more than an emotionally-driven burst of anger and frustration. Nothing worth parsing word-for-word.
[“Fredo“] is like the n-word for us.
That's a gross ...
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30
votes
Somebody who pretends to understand, but doesn't
The person is a poseur (or poser) with respect to understanding.
Noun: poseur pow'zur
A person who habitually pretends to be something he is not
poser
-- WordWeb
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30
votes
What Are Some Pejorative Terms for the Words "Boat" or "Ship"?
On the UK canal system, people with traditional narrow boats (70 feet long, with solid steel hulls originally designed to carry 20 tons or more of cargo) sometimes refer to fiberglass hulled craft as "...
- 4,114
30
votes
Insult for someone who "doesn't know anything"
It is not the short word you are looking for, but ignoramus means “a stupid or ignorant person.” It’s a bit old-fashioned sounding and underused.
- 9,218
29
votes
Derogatory term for people from places like San Francisco
Recently in the United States, I've heard the term coastal elite growing in use.
The term is referenced in Salon in an article titled '“Real Americans” vs. “coastal elites”: What right-wing sneers ...
- 22.7k
29
votes
Is "Fredo" an insult to Italian-Americans?
I don't think it's "Fredo" specifically that's the insult. Calling someone by a name that's stereotypically associated with their ethnicity is likely to be viewed as racism. So he would have a similar ...
- 22.6k
28
votes
A derogatory term for a book or other printed material
While not specifically targeting written communication, drivel
drivel - silly nonsense. "don't talk such drivel!"
synonyms: nonsense, twaddle, claptrap, balderdash, gibberish, rubbish,
...
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28
votes
Difference in meaning between “elderly” and "old"?
Is there more of a negative association to the word “elderly” than to the word "old"?
Possibly it is the reverse. I would normally call myself "old", and leave the usage of &...
27
votes
Is "allopathy" pejorative?
There are two kinds of practicing physicians in the United States:
allopathic physicians (MD's) and osteopathic physicians (DO's). Both
are fully licensed physicians, trained in diagnosing and ...
- 3,015
27
votes
Accepted
Why are the French pejoratively referred to as frogs?
According to the French newspaper Le Figaro, the reason has to do with a neighborhood across from Paris called La Grenouillère:
MY TRANSLATION:
La Grenouillère or more precisely La Guernouillère [...
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26
votes
Word for lying while bragging/boasting
Full of hot air
A person who is full of hot air is a person who talks a lot but whose words carry no substance. This does not always refer to outright lies (It can, of course.), but if not, the claim ...
- 1,448
26
votes
Somebody who pretends to understand, but doesn't
You can use Charlatan.
Its meaning in the Cambridge dictionary is
a person who pretends to have skills or knowledge that they do not have.
You should also check out its synonyms and related ...
- 1,945
26
votes
What Are Some Pejorative Terms for the Words "Boat" or "Ship"?
As mentioned in Tony Ennis's answer and Steve Lovell's comment there are a couple of words that refer to old/dilapidated/wrecked boats (such as hulk, wreck and scow) that may be used, but...
...As has ...
- 1,825
25
votes
A possibly modern derogatory term for housewife
@livresque's answer makes the most sense to me of the answers here, but with the context you give in comments, I think "Stepford wife" would also be a useful term. It has stronger negative ...
- 351
24
votes
A derogatory term for a book or other printed material
Hotlicks said rag in comments, and I think that's a good one.
It has a meaning literally as "a bad newspaper", so it is derogatory, and wonderful as a close metaphor for other poor quality written ...
- 1,742
24
votes
'You were pigged'
Seems like an unusual expression, which means, the Urban Dictionary might be the only source at the moment to explain it. In 2013, a user, awbladerunner, defined it as:
Pull a Pig is a game where ...
NVZ♦
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23
votes
A derogatory term for a book or other printed material
Have a look at pap at Oxford dictionary, defined as
Worthless or trivial reading matter or entertainment.
Also look up its synonyms like pulp and consider other words like kitsch or cloying.
- 14.9k
23
votes
“pig book” – when, where & why has a booklet of college students with photos been called a “pig book”?
The only slang dictionary I've found that includes an entry for "pig book" is Tom Dalzell & Terry Victor, The New Partridge Dictionary of Lang and Unconventional English (2006), and its ...
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