guttersnipe

American  

[guht-er-snahyp] / ˈgʌt ərˌsnaɪp /

noun

1. a person belonging to or characteristic of the lowest social group in a city.

2. a street urchin.

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guttersnipe British  

/ ˈɡʌtəˌsnaɪp /

noun

1. a child who spends most of his time in the streets, esp in a slum area

2. a person regarded as having the behaviour, morals, etc, of one brought up in squalor

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Other Word Forms

• guttersnipish adjective

Etymology

Origin of guttersnipe

First recorded in 1855–60; gutter + snipe

Explanation

If someone refers to you as a guttersnipe, it's definitely not a compliment — they're essentially calling you a messy and ill-behaved child. While it's unusual to hear guttersnipe these days, it was once a common way to refer to a homeless person, particularly a child. The word made an initial appearance in the 1850s meaning "street corner broker" in Wall Street slang, but thanks to Mark Twain's 1869 reference to "noble savages (and) illustrious guttersnipes," it came to mean "street urchin." Earlier, as far back as Shakespeare's time snipe had been used to mean "disreputable person."

Example Sentences

By this juncture, the only thing we know for sure is that Ferrara, bless his guttersnipe soul, is still bracingly, adamantly himself.

From New York Times • Nov. 18, 2021

“What are we going to do,” the queen despaired, “about my sister’s guttersnipe life?”

From Washington Post • Mar. 11, 2021

A full throttle paean to New York, this prologue levitates on the velocity of its nameless narrator’s guttersnipe lyricism.

From Slate • Apr. 1, 2020

Parliament's website lists examples of words that might be considered offensive, including "stoolpigeon", "blackguard", "coward", "git", "guttersnipe", "hooligan" and "rat".

From BBC • Sep. 26, 2019

Dick, an Abbeville guttersnipe, was therefore admitted to the refinements of the general's table.

From General Bramble by Maurois, André

Related Words

• homeless person
• unhoused person