wingnut
wingnut Lexical Profile
wingnut Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A threaded metal or plastic nut with two flat projecting pieces on opposite sides so that it can be easily gripped and turned using the thumb and forefinger without a wrench.
"She loosened the wingnut by hand to adjust the height of the microphone stand."
North American A person who holds extreme, irrational, or eccentric views, especially in politics (slang, derogatory).
"The talk show host dismissed the caller as a conspiracy-obsessed wingnut."
Any deciduous tree of the genus Pterocarya in the walnut family (Juglandaceae), native to Asia and bearing winged nutlets in long pendulous catkins.
"The park features a mature Caucasian wingnut with wide-spreading branches along the riverbank."
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed as a compound of 'wing' and 'nut' in the late 19th century, originally referring to the fastener's two flat projections; the slang sense for an eccentric or extremist person emerged in the late 20th century, playing on the slang sense of 'nut' for a crazy person.