whippersnapper

whip·per·snap·per

(wĭp′ər-snăp′ər, hwĭp′-)

A person regarded as insignificant and pretentious.

[Alteration (influenced by whip) of dialectal snippersnapper.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

whippersnapper

(ˈwɪpəˌsnæpə)

an insignificant but pretentious or cheeky person, often a young one. Also called: whipster

[C17: probably from whipsnapper a person who snaps whips, influenced by earlier snippersnapper, of obscure origin]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

whip•per•snap•per

(ˈʰwɪp ərˌsnæp ər, ˈwɪp-)

n.

an unimportant but offensively presumptuous person, esp. a young one.

[1665–75; probably b. earlier whipster and snippersnapper, similar in sense]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

whippersnapper - someone who is unimportant but cheeky and presumptuous

jackanapes, lightweight

nobody, nonentity, cypher, cipher - a person of no influence

Translations

Steppke

spaccone

whippersnapper

[ˈwɪpəˌsnæpəʳ] N (also young whippersnapper) → mequetrefe m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

whippersnapper

[ˈ^hwɪpə^rsnæpə^r] n → blanc-bec m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

whippersnapper

n (dated inf) → junger Spund

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

whippersnapper

[ˈwɪpəˌsnæpəʳ] n (also young whippersnapper) → piccolo/a impertinente

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

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References in classic literature ?

The Revolution bequeathed to the French nobility its heritage, and now every whippersnapper of a Parisian may possess manners, methods of expression, and even thoughts that are above reproach in form, while all the time he himself may share in that form neither in initiative nor in intellect nor in soul--his manners, and the rest, having come to him through inheritance.

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Look here," she continued, pointing to Colia, "the other day that whippersnapper told me that this was the whole meaning of the

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And there's the skipper beckoning the whippersnapper to his cabin: the fat will be in the fire in five minutes!"

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No one knew me, for I disguised my voice, and no one dreamed of the silent, haughty Miss March (for they think I am very stiff and cool, most of them, and so I am to whippersnappers) could dance and dress, and burst out into a `nice derangement of epitaphs, like an allegory on the banks of the Nile'.

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"Gently, young fellow," said he; "'tain't improving for little whippersnappers like you to be indulging in blasphemy; so you stop that, or you'll get something you won't like."

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he looked, he wondered how old she was, and what love passages she had had, must have had, with those college whippersnappers with whom, according to Morrison, she herded and danced.

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Older pets Nelson (Colin McFarlane) and Margaret (Debra Stephenson) tolerate the young whippersnapper, Rex (Jack Whitehall), but fellow corgi Charlie (Matt Lucas) is furious that he has been displaced as top dog.

THE QUEEN'S CORGI (PG) HH HHH

Older pets Nelson (Colin McFarlane) and Margaret Debra Stephenson) tolerate young whippersnapper, (Jack Whitehall), but fellow corgi Charlie (Matt Lucas) is furious that he has been displaced as top dog.

THE QUEEN'S CORGI (PG) HH HHH

Older pets Nelson (Colin McFarlane) and Margaret Debra Stephenson) tolerate the young whippersnapper, Rex (Jack Whitehall), but fellow corgi Charlie (Matt Lucas) is furious that he has been displaced as top dog.

EVERY dog has [...]

I first met Mayor Butler in 1985 when I (a young whippersnapper) was working at Bonanza in Marion.

'I can only hope to accomplish half as much'

First staged in 1899, the Bibury Cup is a relative whippersnapper compared to the Carlisle Bell, which was first run in 1599, but it has provided a Classic winner recently with Simple Verse taking the race in 2015 - the same year she went on to win the St Leger.

Here And Now bids to follow up Chester win

CLASS OF '92 (ITV, Monday, regions vary) REMEMBER the time when David Beckham, below, was a fresh-faced whippersnapper plying his trade with Manchester United?