insinuendo
(ɪnsɪnjuːˈɛndəʊ)
[A ‘portmanteau’ blending of insinuation and innuendo.
A tasteless word.—R.W.B.]
| 1885 B. Matthews in Longman's Mag. Dec. 151 Could I not damn with faint praise and stab with sharp insinuendo?—to use the labor-saving and much-needed word thoughtlessly invented by the sable legislator of South Carolina. 1906 N. & Q. 3 Mar. 171/1 An old Yorkshire friend of mine..used the following words frequently. He thought they were good English:—‘Disastrophe’ = disaster + catastrophe, ‘Insinuendo’ = insinuation + innuendo. 1909 Daily Chron. 9 June 6/7 It was a sable legislator who howled back with scorn the ‘insinuendos’ of a political opponent. 1921 C. Mackenzie Rich Relatives ix. 216 Anyone more cunning I've never seen. Nasty insinuendos, enough to make anyone sick! 1966 P. Moloney (title) A plea for Mersey or the gentle art of insinuendo. |