Corrected entry: Hook calls a character "you long range sniper you." This specific term was coined in WWII as a derogatory term for artillery well behind the lines.
tw_stuart
7th Jan 2005
7th Jan 2005
Corrected entry: Hook calls a character "you long range sniper you." This specific term was coined in WWII as a derogatory term for artillery well behind the lines.
Correction: The word sniper dates from 1824 and the verb from 1782 both derived from the bird of the same name which was first recorded in about 1325. Snipe was even used as an abusive term in Shakespeare's Othello. Further, the verb took on a figurative sense by the late 19th century: to verbally rebuke or criticize (to "shoot" at with words).
tw_stuart