freeloader
a person who takes from others but doesn't give anything back in return
TRANSLATION
freeloader = der Schmarotzer --- GOOGLE INDEX freeloader approximately 1,000,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
This is the news organization that released the damaging "47 percent" tape in which Mitt Romney dismissed almost half of Americans as FREELOADERS who depend on the government.
(International Business Times)
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How to Detect and Remove Wireless FREELOADERS From Your Network
(about.com)
(International Business Times)
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How to Detect and Remove Wireless FREELOADERS From Your Network
(about.com)
Did you
know?
freeloader
noun
- a person who takes advantage of others' generosity without giving anything in return
(Oxford Dictionaries)
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Freeloader is an Americanism that became popular in the 1930s during the Great Depression, a time in which the 1929 stock market crash and the Dust Bowl in the Midwest ruined many lives. Although many people were genuinely in financial distress, there were (and still are) some elements of society that perceived the jobless and the poor in a negative light.
This led to derogatory terms like freeloader, which literally meant someone who "loaded up" (to stock up on, to have a supply of) on things for "free." This might have been through the generosity of organizations (churches, charities), individuals or the government.
There were a number of other expressions that became popular during this period, which were used to describe the financial misery that many people suffered as a result of the Great Depression. Here are few examples:
- skid row = a city district frequented by vagrants, alcoholics and addicts. The origin of this expression has long been debated, but the general consensus is that "skid" refers to tracks that loggers in the northwest used to transport timber by letting the trees slide downriver. They were called "skid roads." The figurative sense of skidding stemmed from the idea of a person who was skidding - or sliding - down society's ladder of progress.
- living from hand to mouth = to have just enough money to live on and nothing extra
- soup kitchen, bread line = a place where food is offered for free or at a very low cost
- on the dole = to be unemployed and receiving government benefits. From the verb "to dole," meaning to hand out charity.
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SYNONYMS
barnacle, bloodsucker, bum, deadbeat, hobo, leech, moocher, parasite, scrounger, sponge, vagrant
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Not everyone who receives government assistance is a freeloader."
---
Thanks to Connie for suggesting today's word!
noun
- a person who takes advantage of others' generosity without giving anything in return
(Oxford Dictionaries)
---
Freeloader is an Americanism that became popular in the 1930s during the Great Depression, a time in which the 1929 stock market crash and the Dust Bowl in the Midwest ruined many lives. Although many people were genuinely in financial distress, there were (and still are) some elements of society that perceived the jobless and the poor in a negative light.
This led to derogatory terms like freeloader, which literally meant someone who "loaded up" (to stock up on, to have a supply of) on things for "free." This might have been through the generosity of organizations (churches, charities), individuals or the government.
There were a number of other expressions that became popular during this period, which were used to describe the financial misery that many people suffered as a result of the Great Depression. Here are few examples:
- skid row = a city district frequented by vagrants, alcoholics and addicts. The origin of this expression has long been debated, but the general consensus is that "skid" refers to tracks that loggers in the northwest used to transport timber by letting the trees slide downriver. They were called "skid roads." The figurative sense of skidding stemmed from the idea of a person who was skidding - or sliding - down society's ladder of progress.
- living from hand to mouth = to have just enough money to live on and nothing extra
- soup kitchen, bread line = a place where food is offered for free or at a very low cost
- on the dole = to be unemployed and receiving government benefits. From the verb "to dole," meaning to hand out charity.
---
SYNONYMS
barnacle, bloodsucker, bum, deadbeat, hobo, leech, moocher, parasite, scrounger, sponge, vagrant
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Not everyone who receives government assistance is a freeloader."
---
Thanks to Connie for suggesting today's word!
