whackjob

whackjob

See also: whack job

English

Alternative forms

• wackjob
• whack job

Etymology

• whack(y) + job(bie)

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