gossip columnist
- noun
- /ˈɡɑsɪp ˈkɑləmnɪst/
- Literature
- She's a gossip columnist.
- gossip columnist Liz Smith
- a prominent gossip columnist
- a syndicated gossip columnist
Examples
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While adoring fans "ooh" and "aah," the screen celebrities grant brief interviews to a prominent gossip columnist.
Academic text (2003) -
A gossip columnist broke the story.
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Where's a gossip columnist around this castle when you need one?
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Okay, Ted Casablanca, a gossip columnist that used to be with E!, has said for years that R & K had an open sexual relationship.
Blog text (26) -
Lolly got her lifetime contract, and for the next 30 years, became the most powerful and feared gossip columnist in America.
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The gossip columnist reported juicy secrets about the latest Hollywood couples.
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Every week, the gossip columnist shares the latest rumors from the celebrity world.
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Fans eagerly await the gossip columnist's column for updates on their favorite stars.
How Gossipy
- Offensive
- Literature
- Literature
- Literature
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and productively built from 'gossip' (rumors about private affairs) + 'columnist' (a journalist who writes a regular column); a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer a journalist who writes about gossip. This noun+noun compound follows a common, transparent formation cross-linguistically and requires no idiomatic knowledge beyond the parts.
Etymology
Gossip columnist comes from old newspapers where a writer had a regular column full of gossip, meaning chat and rumors about people's private lives. The word columnist is a writer who keeps that regular column, so the image of a writer sharing private stories explains why gossip columnist means 'a journalist who reports rumors about celebrities and social events'.