Talk:earthworm

earthworm
Rfv-sense: A disparaging reference to a person, particularly one who grovels.

I am not familiar with this in contemporary English, though worm is certainly possible, if perhaps dated. Webster 1913 has "A mean, sordid person; a niggard. Norris." I can't find a quotation from Norris, except in a dictionary, where is seemed "poetic", a merely literary metaphor. MWOnline dropped it. OED? DCDuring TALK 20:31, 24 January 2013 (UTC)
 * It seems to me that any insect or worm name can be used as a disparaging reference to a person, particularly one who grovels. bd2412 T 15:30, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
 * "You ladybug, you." "What a centipede." "Lower than a bumblebee."
 * In any event it is a matter of verification. DCDuring TALK 16:42, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
 * In that case, I would say that six months without a response requires this sense to be deleted as unverified. bd2412 T 17:08, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
 * The number of gbook hits for grovelling earthworm leads me to conclude that the only reason this has not been cited is laziness and disinterest rather than a dubious definition. Spinning Spark  19:15, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
 * When I enclose "grovelling earthworm" in quotes I get a large number of usages that refer to literal earth-worms, others that seem mere metaphors. At best this is a dated literary expression. But I don't see the cites to support it as given. DCDuring TALK  20:00, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
 * I, too, am often shocked at the laziness and disinterest of contributors and discussants. They seem almost like humans in their behavior. DCDuring TALK  20:04, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Perhaps I should have said, "many insect or worm names" can be used as a disparaging reference to a person. Gnat, mosquito, nightcrawler, maggot, cockroach, etc. Henry Fielding has a "grovelling maggot" and one George Marshall Sloan has a "grovelling centipede". However, I see no evidence that "earthworm" unadorned implies "grovelling". bd2412 T 12:42, 30 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Clocked out DCDuring TALK 02:52, 18 August 2013 (UTC)

Sense deleted. bd2412 T 15:26, 21 August 2013 (UTC)

RFV discussion: March–June 2016
Rfv-sense: (figuratively) Death.

Worm, yes; earthworm, I think not. DCDuring TALK 13:06, 10 March 2016 (UTC)


 * RFV failed. —Mr. Granger (talk • contribs) 12:14, 29 June 2016 (UTC)