Snarky

Hi, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is Joanne from San Diego.

Hiya, Joanne from San Diego.

Hello, Joanne from San Diego.

Hey, guys.

How are you?

I’m great. How are you, too?

Great.

Good.

Super.

My question is about the word snarky.

Mmm.

Have you been called that lately?

The question is, has Grant been called snarky lately?

I mean, that’s sort of a state.

Exactly.

That’s his M.O.

Oh, yeah, when they say that handsome snarky man.

You hear that all the time.

I was reading Anthony Bourdain’s book, Kitchen Confidential.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, it’s a really good read, right?

Yeah, it’s a really fun read.

And as I was reading it, I’m thinking, gosh, this guy’s really snarky.

And then I thought, you know, I don’t really know what that word means.

It’s like one of those words I kind of think I know, but not really.

Yeah, what do you think it means?

Well, like sarcastic, but I know it means more than that.

That’s how I usually use it.

Yeah.

Well, it’s also about having a superior attitude, right?

Is it?

Yeah.

Now, where did it come from?

Because it’s just like a slang.

Yeah, I think of it as sort of that sort of, you know, snarky New York, brittle humor.

Oh, I always think of it as the snarky San Diegan dry humor.

But okay.

Touche.

East Coast, baby.

East Coast.

No, but snarky goes with that category of words to begin with, S-N.

Snort, snotty, snooty, snide, snippy, sneer, snob, snivel, snitch.

What else am I getting?

Snout.

And they all literally or figuratively have something to do with the nose.

Either you actually have something going on with your nose or you, like, so to speak, have your nose in the air.

You’re snooty or snobby or something like that.

I should say, every time this question comes up, because we have had this before and people love this term,

And it’s on the rise, I believe.

It’s hard to judge these things.

We have to mention that Lewis Carroll had a poem called The Hunting of the Snark in 1876.

That’s a different snark.

We’re not talking about the same snark.

Okay.

But in any case, the adjective that we’re talking about dates to around the early 1900s.

It originally meant irritable or short-tempered.

Snarky tends to mean sarcastic or judgmental or excessively negative.

It really kind of influxed this term.

Well, I’m looking at the Oxford English Dictionary, and there’s a picture of Grant Barrett under that.

Har, har.

The word snark.

That’s so funny I forgot to laugh.

No.

But there’s also a verb that means to snort or snort, and notice the S ends there.

And to find fault with, to nag, and that dates to the 1880s.

And these are all of the same family of snark.

And the word narky, which is a slightly older word and means the same thing.

Snarky without the S.

Interesting.

Well, guys, I’m looking at Webster’s third new international, and under the word snarky,

There’s a line drawing of Grant Barrett.

Ha, ha.

Not funny, though.

Joanne, don’t let her get away with that.

Anyway, Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential,

Tipped you off to a really interesting word,

At least made you think of it.

He’s actually a pretty funny writer,

And he’s not a bad judge of language.

That book in particular, I’ve gone through

And combed for new words,

Because he just has an ear for these things.

Yes.

Wow.

And so do you, Joanne.

Thanks for calling.

Thank you so much.

Thank you so much.

Bye-bye.

Bye.

Well, if you’d like to call me in the Snarkster.

Wine drawings of Grant.

Hello.

Under Snarky.

And on my dartboard is a picture of Martha.

Har.

And if you’d like to talk with me in the Snarkster, just give us a call.

The number is 1-877-929-9673 or send us a Snarky email.

The address is words@waywordradio.org.