Tosspot Words

I’ll mainly quote A Word A Day, which you ought to subscribe to. Here’s the link: https://wordsmith.org/awad/subscribe.html

Here’s the quote:

In these words, the noun is the object of the verb, and the two together define an identity. For instance, consider the term pickpocket. It conjures up a vivid image of nimble fingers (the verb “pick”) stealthily exploring unsuspecting wallets (the noun “pocket”).

So pickpocket is a tosspot word because a pickpocket picks pockets; repairman is not, because a repairman does not repair a man, unless you call your doctor a repairman (better to call them sawbones).

This fascinating linguistic category showcases the inventive spirit of our language and the storytelling potential packed within simple words.

Here’s a picture of someone portraying a lackwit (the subject of the AWAD post for October 2, 2023):