Snollygoster

Here’s a word I’m betting you have never come across—SNOLLYGOSTER. As of February 2017 it has been reinstated into the Collegiate Merriam Webster Dictionary.

It had been taken out in 2003 because it was thought that no one used it.

What does it mean? It is a noun and considered slang and refers to a clever but dishonest person.

It originated in the American South around the 1850s and was sometimes used to describe politicians. People who study how words come about believe it originated from the word SNALLYGASTER which describes an imaginary creature who was half reptile and half bird that was said to prey on children and chickens.

So be careful not to confuse a snollygoster with a snallygaster!

So a SNALLYGASTER is a cryptid or a mythical creature similar to the Loch Ness Monster, the Yeti or Sasquatch. This one is thought to roam Western Maryland and Southern Pennsylvania and the word is believed to come from the German phrase “schneller geist” meaning quick spirit.