missing stair

English

Etymology

Coined by blogger Cliff Pervocracy (a pseudonym) in 2012. In analogy to a stairway missing a step, with guests expected to overcome or bypass the obstacle rather than it being fixed.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

missing stair (plural missing stairs)

1. (neologism, idiomatic) A member of a community who is widely but privately known within that community for abusiveness or other harmful behavior that has not been addressed.
   • 2012 June 22, Cliff Pervocracy, “The missing stair.”, in The Pervocracy‎^[1] (blog), retrieved 2018-09-21:

     "Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you, there's a missing step on the unlit staircase with no railings. But it's okay because we all just remember to jump over it." Some people are like that missing stair.

   • 2015, Julie Still, Managing Your Brand: Career Management and Personal PR for Librarians:

     Many groups, whether they may be families, workplaces, organizations, or groups of friends will have what is sometimes called a “missing stair.”