Throttlebottom

[ throt-l-bot-uhm ]

noun

, (sometimes lowercase)

1. a harmless incompetent in public office.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Throttlebottom¹

After Alexander Throttlebottom, character in Of Thee I Sing (1932), musical comedy by George S. Kaufman ( def ) and Morrie Ryskind (1895–1985), American dramatist, lyricist, and writer