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Oct 1, 2025
This week’s themeThere is a word for it This week’s words barbatulous pseudonymuncle ![]() ![]() Illustration: Anu Garg + AI
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with Anu Gargpseudonymuncle
PRONUNCIATION:
MEANING:
noun: An insignificant person writing under a pseudonym.
ETYMOLOGY:
From pseudonym, from Latin pseudo- (false) + -nym (name) + -uncle
(diminutive suffix), from -culus (diminutive suffix). Earliest
documented use: 1875.
NOTES:
This word is on the opposite side of a grand literary pseudonym
like Mark Twain or George Orwell. This is an insult for the relative
unknown whose opinions are of zero consequence. The word uncle is a
literal diminutive, from Latin avunculus (mother’s brother). When you
call someone a pseudonymuncle, you are essentially saying their false
name is as insignificant as they are. Think of all the anonymous internet
commenters out there, spouting off while their opinions are just as
consequential as a distant relative’s bad advice.
USAGE:
“The novelist became angry, called his critic a pseudonymuncle, and
defended himself.” Anthony Trollope; Chronicles of Barsetshire; Chapman & Hall; 1878. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm,
thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to
others. It is a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with
bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity. -Jimmy
Carter, 39th US President, Nobel laureate (b. 1 Oct 1924)
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