doryphore

pavonine commented on the word doryphore

A pedantic critic of minor errors; a nit-picker.

We owe this word to Sir Harold Nicolson, who introduced it to the

world in the Spectator magazine in August 1952. In an issue of the

same magazine later the same year, he described a doryphore as a

"questing prig, who derives intense satisfaction from pointing out

the errors of others"

Sir Harold took it from French, in which it's the usual name for

the Colorado beetle, hence a pest.

From: The weekly email of www.worldwidewords.org

July 13, 2008