stockcropper (noun, informal, humorous): a company director or executive whose pay depends largely on company performance (stock, options, bonuses) rather than a fixed salary.
Etymology: nonce blend of stock (shares in a company) and sharecropper (a tenant farmer who pays the landowner with a share of the harvest). The joke inverts the sharecropper's position: the stockcropper's income also rises and falls with the crop, here the share price. Coined in October 2026 as a playful alternative to wage slave for someone whose pay is performance-linked. I found no earlier use, though that is a limited search and not proof of absence. Coined in conversation with Claude Opus 5.5, an AI assistant and my talking library.
Per https://pca.st/episode/09c2f6f0-f073-49f8-b0c8-f60aa1b8ca1c?t=247 Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (1961) does not refer to this modern meaning. An updated definition was prepared by the lexicographer features in the podcast, but has not been featured on the website as of the podcast recording date (2025).
A brand that was destroyed and ceased to have any claim as a proper noun in 2023 or 2024 depending how you define it. As of 2025 it is definitely fair game. R.I.P. twitter.com.
Mea culpa. 25418050 added logophile to this list. I added it myself, which then allowed me to delete it, which I shouldn't have done. Therefore, I put it back. Trying to make this right. Sorry.
Comments by tbc
tbc commented on the word stockcropper
stockcropper (noun, informal, humorous): a company director or executive whose pay depends largely on company performance (stock, options, bonuses) rather than a fixed salary.
Etymology: nonce blend of stock (shares in a company) and sharecropper (a tenant farmer who pays the landowner with a share of the harvest). The joke inverts the sharecropper's position: the stockcropper's income also rises and falls with the crop, here the share price. Coined in October 2026 as a playful alternative to wage slave for someone whose pay is performance-linked. I found no earlier use, though that is a limited search and not proof of absence. Coined in conversation with Claude Opus 5.5, an AI assistant and my talking library.
Compare: golden handcuffs, wage slave.
October 8, 2026
tbc commented on the word chom chom
Obscure coinage meaning banana. See https://youtu.be/zmwgmt7wcv8?t=455.
September 24, 2026
tbc commented on the word chatiferous
TIL https://websters1913.timcieplowski.com/word/chatiferous/
Bearing seta.
September 19, 2026
tbc commented on the word seta
Also see chatiferous
September 19, 2026
tbc commented on the word deaccumulate
Essential to decluttering
July 26, 2026
tbc commented on the word hut
What does the football jargon "hut" mean? https://claude.ai/share/ec225ddc-a4e2-4823-ad15-fbc58ff9d7b4
March 27, 2026
tbc commented on the word parrhesia
n001a
I have a tendency to do this, albeit in an amateur, undisciplined way
January 2, 2026
tbc commented on the word pompom girl
Per https://pca.st/episode/09c2f6f0-f073-49f8-b0c8-f60aa1b8ca1c?t=247 Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (1961) does not refer to this modern meaning. An updated definition was prepared by the lexicographer features in the podcast, but has not been featured on the website as of the podcast recording date (2025).
October 15, 2025
tbc commented on the word pom-pom
Merriam-Webster's definition of "pom-pom" matches pompom, FWIW http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pom-pom
October 15, 2025
tbc commented on the word pompom
Merriam-Webster spells it "pom-pom": http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pom-pom
October 15, 2025
tbc commented on the word fluffle
See warren or herd. Also see Fluffle - Justapedia.
August 10, 2025
tbc commented on the word show-n-tell
See show and tell
August 10, 2025
tbc commented on the word encyclosphere
See https://wiki.encyclosphere.org/
April 20, 2025
tbc commented on the word sleep
I am amused that Sleep has been adopted.
April 20, 2025
tbc commented on the word tbc0
The example URL doesn't mention tbc0? Anyway, best examples, IMHO, are https://tbc0.com/ and https://x.com/tbc0
April 20, 2025
tbc commented on the word twitter
A brand that was destroyed and ceased to have any claim as a proper noun in 2023 or 2024 depending how you define it. As of 2025 it is definitely fair game. R.I.P. twitter.com.
April 20, 2025
tbc commented on the list words-that-describe-me--3
Mea culpa. 25418050 added logophile to this list. I added it myself, which then allowed me to delete it, which I shouldn't have done. Therefore, I put it back. Trying to make this right. Sorry.
April 20, 2025
tbc commented on the user tbc
With this inaugural comment I am joining this community. I finally get it after hearing Erin McKean as a guest on GrammarGirl's podcast (https://pca.st/episode/7a6638c1-f1be-4ff4-aa8e-62bc112e8e60). (And don't miss her talking about AI and the future of dictionaries on GG's bonus episode (https://pca.st/episode/3c0da526-fcda-4c26-b98b-52aeff4091c2).
April 20, 2025