whackjob

See also: whack job

English

Alternative forms

• wackjob
• whack job

Etymology

• whack(y) + job(bie)

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈ(h)wækd͡ʒɑb/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwækd͡ʒɒb/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

whackjob (plural whackjobs)

1. (colloquial, derogatory) A crazy, possibly dangerous, person.
   • 1992, Elmore Leonard, Rum Punch:

     "He called the guy who owns the gun shop a 'whackjob' and said he's going to take him down if it's the last thing he does."

   • 2003, Michael Graham, Redneck Nation: How the South Really Won the War:

     One of America's most prominent Confederistas is Michael Hill, head whackjob at the looney League of the South—an obscure organization that has already declared southern cultural independence.

   • 2004: Mark. St. Amant, Committed: Confessions of a Fantasy Football Junkie

     Ronald Reagan took his oath as the fortieth president in American history and, three months later, took a bullet from some wackjob trying to impress the future star of The Silence of the Lambs.

Synonyms

• (crazy, possibly dangerous person): basket case, freak, loony, nutjob, nutter, screwball, wacko, wingnut