Twit
Pronunciation
- IPA: /twɪt/
- Rhymes: -ɪt
Origin
Originally twite, an aphetism of Middle English atwite.
Full definition of twit
Verb
- (transitive) To reproach, blame; to ridicule or tease.
- 1590, Shakespeare. History of Henry VI, Part II, Act III, Scene I"Hath he not twit our sovereign lady hereWith ignominious words, though clerkly couch'd,As if she had suborned some to swearFalse allegations to o'erthrow his state? " -
- 1955, Rex Stout, "When a Man Murders...", in , October 1994 edition, ISBN 0553249592, page 106:Mr. Cramer, a policeman, came this morning and twitted me for having let a murderer hoodwink me.
- 2007, Bernard Porter, "Did He Puff his Crimes to Please a Bloodthirsty Readership?", review of Stanley: The Impossible Life of Africa’s Greatest Explorer by Tim Jeal, London Review of Books, 5 April, 29:7, p. 10H. R. Fox Bourne, secretary of the Aborigines' Protection Society – often twitted for being an ‘armchair critic’ – wrote in a review of one of Stanley's books ...
- TillotsonThis these scoffers twitted the Christian with.
- L'EstrangeAesop minds men of their errors, without twitting them for what is amiss.
- (transitive, computing) To ignore or killfile (a user on a bulletin board system).
- 1995, "Michelle Jackson", Debutante/Question about Tori Shirts (on newsgroup rec.music.tori-amos)However, on the Internet BBS's such as Quartz (now dead), Prism, Monsoon, Sunset, ect, someone pulling that kind of crap is likely to get flamed quite fast and twitted before he/she can breathe.
- 2002, "Chris Hoppman", FidoNet Feed Needed (on newsgroup alt.bbs)And no, there is no "thought purification program" that can filter out some folks obscene ideas that can be expressed w/o written vulgarities. That has to be simply "dealt" with, either by ignoring or twitting the individual that offends habitually.
Noun
twit
(plural twits)Usage notes
In the UK and UK English-speaking areas, usually used in a humorous or affectionate manner.