old coot
15
9.5
- noun
- /oʊld kut/
- Informal
:
cascarrabias
- An old coot, Uncle Leo, grabs Rita and the two of them dance up a storm.
- a crazy old coot
- a senile old coot
- a stubborn old coot
Examples
-
I know, I sound like an old coot...
Blog text (33) -
Carl was an old coot!
Fiction book (2001) -
Come on, you old coots, give me your best shot.
-
So, where is it already, you evil old coot?
-
Shut up, you old coot.
-
Besides, who else would work for an old coot like me?
Fiction book (1991) -
I kinda feel sorry for the old coot.
-
You two don't need an old coot like me around.
-
He's a great old coot...!
-
That old coot always has the wildest stories to tell about his adventures.
Synonyms
47
9.3
An old man who behaves in a strange or unusual way
10
9.9
An old person who is often grumpy and unfriendly
8
8.8
A joking, slightly rude name for an old man
6
8.8
An old man who is often a little odd and amusing
4
8.4
A man who is elderly, a bit strange, and often grumpy
Antonyms
How Cranky
Surface Forms
Morphology
old + coot
The word 'old' clearly signals age and is transparent, but 'coot' is a low-frequency noun (literally a bird) whose slang extension meaning 'eccentric or cranky person' is metaphorical and not directly predictable from the literal sense. Because part of the meaning (age) is compositional while the key pragmatic sense (eccentric/cranky) requires prior exposure, the expression is only partially predictable to B1 learners who know the constituents.
Etymology
The noun old coot may come from the small water bird called a coot, which looks a bit odd and walks with a funny, waddling step. People began to call a grumpy, strange man an old coot after that bird, so the phrase now means 'an eccentric, often cranky or odd, old man'.