scissorbill

noun

1

: skimmer sense 3

2

chiefly West : an inferior or stupid person: such as

a

: a worker indifferent to the interests of the laboring class (as one unwilling to join a union)

b

: a worker learning to be a railway brakeman

Word History

Etymology

translation of French bec-en-ciseaux

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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