THE FIRST WORD

whippersnapper

PRONUNCIATION:

(HWIP-uhr-snap-uhr, WIP-) 

MEANING:

noun: A person regarded as unimportant and presumptuous, especially someone young.

ETYMOLOGY:

Perhaps an alteration of whipsnapper, representing noise and uselessness, or an alteration of snippersnapper, similar in sense. Earliest documented use: 1674.

USAGE:

"Young high-flyers find it hard to manage older workers, and older curmudgeons resent being bossed about by whippersnappers."
Age Shall Not Wither Them; The Economist (London, UK); Apr 7, 2011.