pencil-neck
See also: pencilneck
English
Alternative forms
- pencilneck, pencil neck
Etymology
pencil + neck, popularized by wrestler Freddie Blassie.
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun
pencil-neck (plural pencil-necks)
- (informal) A person with a very thin neck.
- (idiomatic, US, derogatory) An insubstantial person; a weakling.
- That pencil-neck from systems isn't going to tell me what I can't do.
- 1977, Pete Cicero; Martin Margulies (lyrics and music), “Pencil Neck Geek”, performed by Freddie Blassie & The Geekettes:
- Mom said, “Sell it to the circus, what the heck.” / Dad said, “Nope, this one's a pencil neck / And if there's one thing lower than a side show freak / It's a grit eatin', scum suckin', pencil neck geek.”
- 2020, Kevin Sullivan; Mary Jordan, quoting Donald Trump, Trump on Trial, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 217:
- On Thursday, March 28, Trump took the stage in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for a campaign rally, where he unleashed a new schoolyard nickname: “little pencil-neck Adam Schiff.”
Derived terms
- pencil-necked