3 October 2014
twit (1)
[twit]
verb (used with object), twitted, twitting.
1. to taunt, tease, ridicule, etc., with reference to anything embarrassing; gibe at.
Synonyms: jeer at, mock, insult, deride.
2. to reproach or upbraid.
Synonyms: chide, scold, rebuke, criticize, revile, castigate.
noun
3. an act of twitting.
4. a derisive reproach; taunt; gibe.
Origin
Middle English, Old English
1520-1530; aphetic variant of obsolete atwite, Middle English atwiten, Old English ætwītan to taunt, equivalent to æt- at1+ wītan to blame
twit (2)
[twit]
noun
1. a weak or thin place in yarn caused by uneven spinning.
Origin
1810-20; origin uncertain
twit (3)
[twit]
1. an insignificant, silly, or bothersome person:
Pay no attention to that obnoxious little twit!
Origin
1920-25; perhaps orig. noun derivative of twit1, i.e., “one who twits others,” but altered in sense by association with expressive words with tw- (twaddle, twat, twerp, etc.) and by rhyme with nitwit
twit (4)
[twit]
1. a confused, excited state:
to be in a twit about company coming.
Synonyms: dither, tizzy, stew.
Origin
probably shortened from twitter
Dictionary.com
Examples from the web for twit
– The film is a merciless, sometimes hilarious portrait of the aristocracy, though the earl is far from being a twit.
– But there’s not much either actor can do with this bluntly drawn twit.
Today’s aphorism
The four most beautiful words in our common language: I told you so.
– Gore Vidal
On this day
3 October 1226 – death of St Francis of Assisi, Italian friar and founder of the men’s Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St Clare and the Third Order of St Francis. Although these are all Catholic Orders, he was never ordained as a Catholic priest. Born 26 September 1181.
3 October 1925 – birthday of Gore Vidal, American author, playwright, essayist and political activist.