gubmint

English

Alternative forms

• gub'mint, gummint

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡʌb.mɪnt/

Noun

gubmint (countable and uncountable, plural gubmints)

1. (nonstandard) Pronunciation spelling of government, representing dialectal English.
   • 1942, Ernestine Hill, Australian Frontier, page 98:

     "Good luck corroboree, make him big fat one, all same Gubmint fella," old Rosie, his "aunt by skin" told me earnestly.

   • 2005, Jeff Hull, Pale Morning Done: A Novel, page 144:

     [H]e understood that his musings about onomatopoeia and sympathetic response gave the gubmint boys far too much credit.

   • 2007, Monica Davis, Land, Legacy and Lynching: Building the Future in Black America, page 155:

     Seems like half the gubmint bureaucrats and snake oil politicians want to help us.

Usage notes

• Used to represent a dialectal pronunciation of government, as in fictional dialog.
• Used to imply a negative attitude toward government founded in ignorance, as in political discourse.

Anagrams

• tumbing