ripsnorter

noun

rip·​snort·​er ˈrip-ˈsnȯr-tər 

: something extraordinary : humdinger

the finale was a ripsnorter

ripsnorting

ˈrip-ˈsnȯr-tiŋ 

adjective

Did you know?

English speakers of the mid-19th century already had the term snorter at their disposal if they wanted a colorful term for something extraordinary, but that didn't stop speakers in the U.S. from throwing the verb rip onto the front of the word to create ripsnorter. And they didn't stop there: By the time the 20th century had reached its quarter mark, U.S. speakers had added hummer, humdinger (probably an alteration of hummer), pip (from pippin, a kind of crisp, tart apple and a term for a highly admirable person or thing), and doozy (thought to be an alteration of daisy) to the catalog of words for the striking or extraordinary.

Synonyms

• beaut
• beauty
• bee's knees
• cat's meow
• corker
• crackerjack
• crackajack
• daisy
• dandy
• dilly
• doozy
• doozie
• doozer
• dream
• honey
• hot stuff
• humdinger
• hummer
• jim-dandy
• knockout
• lollapalooza
• lulu [slang]
• nifty
• peach
• pip
• pippin
• ripper
• snorter
• sockdolager
• sockdologer
• standout
• sweetheart

Examples of ripsnorter in a Sentence

had high hopes that the football game would be a ripsnorter, but it turned out to be a real snoozer

Recent Examples on the Web

Julia Roberts is the divine ripsnorter of weeping. —New York Times, 8 Feb. 2022

Will relish manager Brendan Rodgers style of play, and could have another ripsnorter of a campaign. —SI.com, 6 July 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined above

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!