Tuesday Word: nimrod

[ellesieg.livejournal.com]

In modern slang, a nimrod is an inept person, socially or otherwise -- foolish, rude, unable or unwilling to do anything right. The term has its origins in Nimrod, from the Hebrew Nimrōdh, a biblical king, ruler of Shinar. Renowned for his power and hunting ability, his name became sort of a generic term for a skilled hunter, a tyrant or a powerful person. How did nimrod, with such lofty origins, sink to the level of a common insult? It's all thanks to cartoon character Bugs Bunny, who sarcastically referred to Elmer Fudd, a determined but miserably unsuccessful rabbit hunter, as a nimrod.

Comments

[theidolhands.livejournal.com]

As explained in my comment above, it actually always had that secondary meaning, although Bugs may not have "revamped" it, according to urbandictionary.com he did help popularize it further by mimicking Brooklyn slang (which is what his accent is) where religious exclamations were commonly used. Another being: "Jumping Jehosaphat", "Yee Gods", "Jesus, Mary, and St. Joseph", "For Pete's Sake", etc.