buttinsky

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English

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Etymology

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From butt in (to join a conversation or situation in which one is not welcome or invited, interject) +‎ -sky (a variant of -ski (suffix added to a word, name, or phrase to invoke Russianness, Polishness, or a more general Slavicness)), humorously modelled after Russian surnames, and originally and often used in the form of a surname.[1][2]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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buttinsky (plural buttinskys or buttinskies) (originally US, informal)

  1. (derogatory) One who is prone to butt in, interrupt, or get involved where they are not welcome; a busybody. [from early 20th c.]
    Synonyms: butterinsky, kibitzer, meddler, (Britain) nosey parker, (Australia, New Zealand, informal) stickybeak, (woman, chiefly in Jewish contexts) yenta
    I wish I had never met that nosy buttinsky!
  2. (telecommunications) A robust portable one-piece telephone instrument with clips, used by technicians and lines staff for testing telephone circuits or making a temporary connection to a telephone line.
    Synonym: butt set

Alternative forms

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Translations

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ buttinsky, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2021.
  2. ^ buttinsky”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

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