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word of the day

The word for today is…

scofflaw (noun) – One who habitually violates laws, especially laws that do not involve serious criminal offenses.

Source : The Free Dictionary

Etymology : 1924, from scoff + law. The winning entry in a national contest during Prohibition to coin a word to characterise a person who drinks illegally, chosen from more than 25,000 entries; the $200 winning prize was split between two contestants who sent in the word separately: Henry Irving Dale and Miss Kate L. Butler. Other similar attempts did not stick, such as pitilacker (1926), winning entry in a contest by the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to establish a scolding word for one who mistreats animals (submitted by Mrs. M. McIlvaine Bready of Mickleton, N.J.).

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