quidnunc \KWID-nuhngk\, noun:
One who is curious to know everything that passes; one who knows or pretends to know all that is going on; a gossip; a busybody.
What a treasure-trove to these venerable quidnuncs, could they have guessed the secret which Hepzibah and Clifford were carrying along with them!
-- Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables
Some wretched intrigue which had puzzled two generations of quidnuncs.
-- L. Stephen, Hours in Library
Quidnunc comes from Latin quid nunc?, "what now?"
No comments:
Post a Comment