RUBBERNECK

PRONUNCIATION: (RUHB-uhr-nek)

MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To look or stare with undue curiosity.
noun: A person who stares in such a way.

ETYMOLOGY: From the idea of twisting one’s neck to stare at someone or something. Earliest documented use: 1892.

NOTES: The word has been applied to a tourist and to going on a sightseeing tour. Francis Scott Fitzgerald in Tender Is the Night (1934):
“At Mr. Bill Driscoll’s invitation she went on an excursion to Versailles next day in his rubberneck wagon.”
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RUBBERDECK - 1. why you don't slip when you're standing in a boat; 2. cards for playing Bridge

RUBBERNOCK - where the bowstring goes, in rubber arrows

ROBBERNECK - what thieves do with their Significant Others
("When a felon's not engaged in his Employment
Or maturing his felonious little plans
His capacity for innocent enjoyment
Is just as great as any honest man's...")