Chrysti The Wordsmith: The Letter D - 1

Good day I'm Christie the wordsmith. I've recently noticed how many derogatory English language terms are headed up by the letter D. There's dope dweeb dunce Dodo dummy and dolt. Also dirtbag daffy dingbat dupe dullard and debts and this sizable list does not include several D words which shouldn't be pronounced on air. Cursory glances at this arsenal of insults reveal terms with eccentric peculiar and in some cases unknown histories. Let's take a look at do we. D w e e be. The definition of this word is rather elastic but generally one of the tribe is considered unfashionable overly studious and socially inept. The Oxford English Dictionary places the words appearance in the early 1980s and attributes its coinage to the combination of d w as and dwarf and the E.B. of Thebe. Now feed is itself a derogatory term abbreviated

from feeble minded. So if you like this etymology a dweeb is a feeble minded dwarf. On the other hand writer Hugh Rawson in his wicked words A Treasury of curses insults and putdowns claims do we but is quote of mysterious origin but appears to be related to the word twee but which as it turns out is Yale slang for a diligent student. I'm Christie the wordsmith. Join me next time for dolt. CHRISTIE The wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry Web dot com.