This week’s theme
Words for people

This week’s words
quidam
rudesby

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(ROODZ-bee)

MEANING:

noun: A rude, boorish person.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Old French ruide, from Latin rudis (rough, crude). Earliest documented use: 1566.

NOTES:

The same root gives us rudimentary and the rudiments you wish this person had learned. Quidam vanishes into the crowd, the rudesby forces the crowd to part -- usually with his elbows. He thinks he’s the Great Gatsby, but he’s only the Great Rudesby.

USAGE:

“‘If you’ll pardon my saying so, Mrs. Chestnut, your husband should toss that gent... person... out on his ear. Imagine the effrontery to insult the hostess.’
‘Thank you for your timely rescue, Mister Toombs, but I really don’t think that rudesby knew I was from South Carolina.’”
F.J. Freitag; Dissolution; Xlibris; 2002.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: