Word of the Day

: March 21, 2012

tub-thumper

noun TUB-thump-er

What It Means

: a vociferous supporter (as of a cause)

tub-thumper in Context

Aunt Lucille was a tub-thumper for temperance who never passed up an opportunity to sermonize fervently on the evils of "demon drink" and the virtues of abstinence.

"As some of you are aware, I've been a frequent tub thumper for winter gardening. In the main, I've promoted it as a means to eating well." - From an article by Chris Smith in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 19, 2008

Did You Know?

Tub-thumpers are a noisy (and sometimes amusing) lot. The earliest ones were preachers or public speakers with a predisposition for pounding their fists on the pulpit or lectern - perhaps to wake up their listeners! Back in the 17th century, the word "tub" was sometimes used as a synonym of "pulpit"; John Dryden, for example, used the word thus in 1680 when he wrote, "Jack Presbyter shall here erect his throne, Knock out a tub with preaching once a day." "Tub-thumper" has been naming loud, impassioned speakers since at least 1662, when it was used by a writer named Hugh Foulis to describe "a sort of people ... antick in their Devotions…."