induhvidual

induhvidual

English

Etymology

Blend of individual +‎ duh. In 1995, Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams asked readers of the Dilbert Newsletter to come up with a "good derogatory nickname for non-DNRC [Dogbert's New Ruling Class, the official Dilbert fanclub] people" that "should sound harmless and endearing but have a clever double meaning", ultimately selecting "induhvidual" (submitted by "Heather of Beantown") as the winning entry.[1][2] Issues of the newsletter since then have included a section called "True Tales of Induhviduals" featuring reader-contributed stories about people doing foolish things.[1][2]

Noun

induhvidual (plural induhviduals)

1. (slang, derogatory) A foolish person, especially one whose blundering creates difficulty for others.
   • 1999, Kim L. Serkes, "Draconian Plan", The San Francisco Chronicle, 30 November 1999:

     These are the same induhviduals who can't be bothered to pull their behemoths into the block-long bus zones fiercely defended by $250 fines.

Citations

• For more examples of usage of this term, see Citations:induhvidual.

References

1. Roger Craig Aden, Popular Stories and Promised Lands: Fan Cultures and Symbolic Pilgrimages, University of Alabama Press (1999), →ISBN, pages 135-136
2. induhvidual on WordSpy.com