13 September 2018

wonk

[wongk]

noun Slang.

a student who spends much time studying and has little or no social life; grind.
a stupid, boring, or unattractive person.
a person who studies a subject or issue in an excessively assiduous and thorough manner:
a policy wonk.

Origin of wonk

1960–65, Americanism; of expressive orig.; nautical slang wonk “a midshipman”

Related forms

wonk·ish, adjective

Dictionary.com

Related Words

geek nerd brain grub bookworm grind dweeb poindexter swotter

Examples from the Web for

Contemporary Examples

He hired a disaffected ex-Democratic wonk as his top social-policy guy.
The Daily Beast logo
Paul Ryan: Still a Total Jerk
Michael Tomasky
April 3, 2014

He saw a problem, and—as a self-proclaimed “wonk”—immediately moved to solve it.
The Daily Beast logo
What Paul Ryan Gets Wrong About ‘Inner-City’ Poverty
Jamelle Bouie
March 12, 2014

But before long, Morgan was ready to get off the wonk and back to the Oval Office.
The Daily Beast logo
Piers Morgan Pesters Clintons About 2016 Plans At CGI
Nina Strochlic
September 25, 2013

The ACA and every wonk assumes rational people who can make good financial decisions.
The Daily Beast logo
How Obamacare Looks On the Ground
Megan McArdle
June 5, 2013

Heather Ryan is a graduate of Drake University and wonk living in the heart of presidential political bliss in Iowa.
The Daily Beast logo
Pageant Moms Aren’t All Crazy
Heather Ryan
May 18, 2011

Anagram

know

Today’s quote

‘Four in the morning is usually an unhappy time to be awake. It’s when unpleasant thoughts and pessimistic ideas come to the fore.

– Stephen King – from “End of Watch (The Bill Hodges Trilogy Book 3)

On this day

13 September 1503 – Michelango commences his iconic sculpture, ‘David’.

13 September 1922 – official highest temperature ever recorded: 57.8oC (138oF) at Azizya, Libya.

13 September 1940 – German Luftwaffe bombs Buckingham Palace, London, while King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) are in residence.