jobsworth

British  

/ ˈdʒɒbzˌwɜːθ /

noun

1. informal a person in a position of minor authority who invokes the letter of the law in order to avoid any action requiring initiative, cooperation, etc

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Etymology

Origin of jobsworth

C20: from it's more than my job's worth to …

Example Sentences

"He's obsessed with his job. He does do it well, but he's a little bit of a jobsworth as well."

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2024

Could have been awkward outside Buckingham Palace otherwise – I hear the doorman’s a bit of a jobsworth.

From The Guardian • Jun. 9, 2017

What next: would he and missus, like the baronet apparent and chancellor of the exchequer, be shuffled by some impertinent jobsworth of a ticket inspector into the economy carriage?

From The Guardian • Dec. 21, 2012

But Dargan's beef is not with the office jobsworth – a figure whose fortitude might be seen as brave as much as infuriating.

From The Guardian • Jul. 26, 2012

Attwell looks almost perversely bad as a referee; he has the slavish letter-of-the-law obstinacy of the genuine jobsworth.

From The Guardian • Sep. 27, 2010