link whore
- noun
- /lɪŋk wɔr/
- Offensive
- The forum moderators banned all link whores to reduce spam and improve discussion quality.
Examples
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Some users view him as a link whore because he posts the same article everywhere.
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She admitted being a link whore during the early days of her blogging career.
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Don't be such a link whore!
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Many link whores flood forums with spam.
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The forum moderators banned all link whores to reduce spam and improve discussion quality.
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Some users view him as a link whore because he posts the same article everywhere.
-
She admitted being a link whore during the early days of her blogging career.
How Spammy
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines the literal 'link' with a derogatory metaphor 'whore' (someone who sells or betrays principles), so learners can infer a negative sense — a person who seeks links at any cost. However, the exact implication (aggressively seeking backlinks, spamming, self-promotion online) is culturally specific slang and not fully predictable from the parts, so full meaning likely requires exposure.
Etymology
The slang link whore comes from early web forums and blogs where people posted many web links to get attention. The rude word whore is used in a figurative way to mean someone who will do anything for attention, so the phrase means 'someone who spams links to get traffic'.