Nimrod

Origin

In most English-speaking countries, Nimrod is used to denote a hunter or warrior, because the biblical Nimrod is described as "a mighty hunter". In American English, however, the term has acquired a derogatory meaning of "idiot"; there are various hypotheses as to why. Most examples suggest an intermediate form where Nimrod is used deliberately to mock a hunter. Whether this usage was widespread, or how it influenced the final meaning where the hunter connotation is unintended, might be beyond reach. Possible reasons for the shift from "hunter" to "idiot": One suggestion is that Bugs Bunny's references to Elmer Fudd as a "poor little Nimrod", while most likely using the term's "hunter" sense, contributed to the development of a sense "one who is easily confounded". An alternative explanation of this sense is that it derives from the John Steinbeck memoir Travels with Charley: In Search of America, in which Steinbeck used the term sarcastically while describing an inquest that was held after a hunter accidentally shot his partner: "The coroner questioning this nimrod..." The Oxford English Dictionary, in turn, cites a 1933 writing as the first usage of nimrod to refer to a fool, ...