wasband

English

Etymology

Blend of was +‎ husband.

Noun

wasband (plural wasbands)

1. (slang, rare) An ex-husband, former husband.
   • 1990, Herb Caen, “Plenty of Monday”, The San Francisco Chronicle, March 12, 1990

     After reading here about the guy who calls his wife’s ex her ‘wasband,’ Rosemary Wolohan confides that she refers to her two exes as ‘hasbeends.’

   • 1996, Abigail Trafford, “Will You Still Catch Me When I’m Sixty-Four?”, The Washington Post, September 10, 1996

     The bride’s aunt dances with her ex-husband — he’s called a ‘wasband’ — on the hay-strewn ‘dance floor’ in front of the barn.

   • 2002, Peggy Goetz, “Has anyone seen her wasband? School librarian wants to get a word in the dictionary”, The Orange County Register, May 9, 2002

     El Camino Real Elementary School librarian Cindy Mirallegro wants to put a word in the dictionary. She thought it was her own word when she and her friend were talking and she invented it, but it turns out a search of the Internet showed that several other people have used it before. But, that doesn't matter to College Park resident Mirallegro, she still wants to get it listed in Webster's dictionary.

   • 2002, Steve Harvey, “Woman Campaigns for Another Term of Endearment for a Former Spouse”, The Los Angeles Times, December 12, 2002

     "Has anyone seen her wasband?" said the headline in the Irvine World News. It wasn't a typo. The story referred to librarian Cindy Mirallegro's campaign to win acceptance for "wasband" as a word meaning ex-husband. " 'Ex' just sounds so harsh," said Mirallegro, who has a wasband herself. She sent the Irvine article to Merriam-Webster, which said the word could find "its way into our dictionaries" if "you and other proponents of the word continue to use it in speech and correspondence." Mirallegro said she and her friends are keeping an eye out for "wasband" mentions -- it dates back at least as far as a 1990 Herb Caen column.

   • 2005, Peggy Goetz, “BEYOND THE BEIGE Wasband didn't make it And, what's up with wedgie?”, The Orange County Register, August 18, 2005

     "Wasband" didn't make it this year into Webster's New World College Dictionary update. That was the official word this week from Mike Agnes, Wiley Publishing's dictionary editor who oversees all new editions and updates of the dictionary.

Synonyms

• ex-husband (more commonly)

Further reading

• Paul McFedries (1996 September 20) “wasband”, in Word Spy, Logophilia Limited, retrieved 4 June 2017.
• “wasband” in The Phrase Finder

Anagrams

• band saw, band-saw, bandsaw