fusspot
a person who complains about unimportant things
TRANSLATION
fusspot = der Nörgler --- GOOGLE INDEX fusspot: approximately 54,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
We were to have lunch, and while I knew she did not fit the FUSSPOT stereotype of the British wine critic, I had never met her and didn’t know her tastes and preferences.
(New York Times)
---
What the German cyclist Jan Ullrich needs most is a disciplinarian, a FUSSPOT who will say to him, "Jan, don't eat that, eat this. Jan, don't do that, do this…"
(International Herald Tribune)
(New York Times)
---
What the German cyclist Jan Ullrich needs most is a disciplinarian, a FUSSPOT who will say to him, "Jan, don't eat that, eat this. Jan, don't do that, do this…"
(International Herald Tribune)
Did you
know?
fusspot
noun
- a person who is often dissatisfied and complains about things that are not important
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
WORD ORIGIN
Fuss is both a noun and verb that has several slightly different meanings:
- needlessly nervous or useless activity; commotion (There was a lot of fuss on moving day.)
- a state of excessive and unwarranted concern over an unimportant matter (He made a big fuss over one low test grade.)
- an objection; a protest (The longer working hours caused a big fuss.)
- a quarrel or an argument
- a display of affectionate excitement and attention (Everyone made a fuss over the new baby.)
When combined with pot, a generic term for a round container, fusspot then describes someone who perpetually complains about trivial issues. Why pot instead of another term? Why not fussbag, fussbowl or fussbox? Perhaps the use of pot stems from the idea of a cooking pot as it nervously heats up. We will never know.
One of the world's most famous fusspots is the character Felix in Neil Simon's play The Odd Couple. The original Broadway production starred Art Carney as Felix and Walter Matthau as Oscar, two completely mismatched roommates who drive each other crazy. In the film version, Jack Lemmon plays Felix, the fusspot who can't find anything good to say about the messy household habits of his roommate.
---
SYNONYMS
bellyacher, crab, crosspatch, curmudgeon, faultfinder, griper, grouch, growler, grumbler, grump, moaner, mutterer, sourpuss, whiner
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"My maths teacher at school was a real fusspot, maybe that's why I never really got good at arithmetic!"
noun
- a person who is often dissatisfied and complains about things that are not important
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
WORD ORIGIN
Fuss is both a noun and verb that has several slightly different meanings:
- needlessly nervous or useless activity; commotion (There was a lot of fuss on moving day.)
- a state of excessive and unwarranted concern over an unimportant matter (He made a big fuss over one low test grade.)
- an objection; a protest (The longer working hours caused a big fuss.)
- a quarrel or an argument
- a display of affectionate excitement and attention (Everyone made a fuss over the new baby.)
When combined with pot, a generic term for a round container, fusspot then describes someone who perpetually complains about trivial issues. Why pot instead of another term? Why not fussbag, fussbowl or fussbox? Perhaps the use of pot stems from the idea of a cooking pot as it nervously heats up. We will never know.
One of the world's most famous fusspots is the character Felix in Neil Simon's play The Odd Couple. The original Broadway production starred Art Carney as Felix and Walter Matthau as Oscar, two completely mismatched roommates who drive each other crazy. In the film version, Jack Lemmon plays Felix, the fusspot who can't find anything good to say about the messy household habits of his roommate.
---
SYNONYMS
bellyacher, crab, crosspatch, curmudgeon, faultfinder, griper, grouch, growler, grumbler, grump, moaner, mutterer, sourpuss, whiner
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"My maths teacher at school was a real fusspot, maybe that's why I never really got good at arithmetic!"
