Bible beater
- noun
- /ˈbaɪbəl ˈbiːtər/
- Slur
:
fanático religioso
- I may sound like a Bible-beater yellin' up a revival at a camp meeting, but that don't change the truth none.
Examples
-
One of those tent revivals... ...with all those Bible-beaters doing God-only-knows-what.
-
At the meeting, she acted like a Bible beater, pushing her views on everyone without considering their feelings.
-
Some people find his constant talk about religion makes him sound like a Bible beater, which can be quite off-putting.
-
He was labeled a Bible beater for his aggressive attempts to convert others during conversations.
Antonyms
How Zealous
57
5.1
- Slur
18
6.7
38
2.3
25
6.0
81
3.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
Bible + beater
The constituent 'Bible' is transparent but 'beater' primarily evokes someone who strikes, so the intended figurative sense — someone who aggressively wields the Bible or uses it to proselytize — requires a metaphorical extension. A B1 learner who knows the literal words may guess an aggressive action but is unlikely to derive the specific pragmatic meaning ('overzealous promoter') without prior exposure, making the expression only partially predictable.
Etymology
The noun Bible beater may come from the image of a person waving or hitting a Bible to make a strong point, where the word beater suggests using force like a weapon. That's why it now means someone who is 'pushy about religion' and tries to make others accept their beliefs.