jabroni

[ juh-broh-nee ]

noun

1. Slang. a stupid, foolish, or contemptible person; loser: Shut your mouth, you dumb jabroni!

   She always has a comeback to own the trolls and jabronis on Twitter.

   Shut your mouth, you dumb jabroni!

2. Also called en·hance·ment tal·ent [en-, hans, -m, uh, nt , tal, -, uh, nt],. Professional Wrestling. a wrestler whose purpose is to lose matches against headlining wrestlers in order to build up the status and fame of the headliners:

   The man is a legend in the ring—he eats jabronis for breakfast.

Word History and Origins

Origin of jabroni¹

First recorded in 1915–20 jabroni fordef 1 and in 1995–2000 jabroni fordef 2; origin uncertain; perhaps from Upper Italian such as Milan dialect giambone “ham”

More About Jabroni

What is a jabroni?

Jabroni is a slang term meaning a foolish, contemptible person or a loser.

Jabroni is an insult that is used to demean others. While you and your friends might teasingly use it to insult each other in fun, calling someone you don’t know a jabroni could be hurtful, though not as hurtful as more vulgar slang terms.

In the professional wrestling industry, a jabroni is a wrestler who is brought into a match specifically to lose to a newer wrestler to build up the newer wrestler’s popularity. A jabroni might also be called a jobber or enhancement talent.

In World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), wrestlers use the term to insult their opponents and make them seem small or weak.

Where does jabroni come from?

The first records of the term jabroni meaning “a foolish, contemptible person” come from around 1915. The first records of the professional wrestling meaning come from around 1995. Its origin is uncertain, but it is believed to have come from giambone, meaning “ham,” in some Italian dialects.

The history of jabroni as an insult is unclear, but it is believed by some experts to have been adopted into English by Italian immigrants in the 1920s in order to refer to someone as a ham, hambone, or jambone, meaning “worthless.” Its earliest spellings include jiboney, jobroney, jabroney, and jamboney. Regardless of its spelling or exact origin, jabroni has been used in America as an insult for foolish or weak people since the early 1900s.

In professional wrestling, jabroni was first used by World Wrestling Federation (WWF) wrestler Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, also known as The Iron Sheik, an Iranian wrestler who was popular in the 1980s. It is said that he would often use the term backstage to describe his opponents. The term was popularized in the wrestling world, however, by Dwayne Johnson, also known as The Rock, who is quoted as repeatedly using it to demean big-name wrestlers during wrestling performances. The term continues to be used as a synonym for jobber and by performers and fans alike as an insult.

Did you know … ?

What are some synonyms for jabroni?

• jobber
• enhancement talent

What are some words that often get used in discussing jabroni?

• rude
• wrestling
• fake

How is jabroni used in real life?

As slang, jabroni is a moderate insult that could still be considered hurtful to some people. In wrestling, it can be used as an insult or technically to describe a wrestler who is meant to lose.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYBODY EXCEPT THAT HOLLYWOOD BLONDE JABRONI HULK HOGAN

— The Iron Sheik (@the_ironsheik) December 25, 2020

#NationalRoastDay is tomorrow.
If you didn’t know, now you know. Either way, you’re a jabroni.

— Wendy’s (@Wendys) February 10, 2021

Monday Y’all…

Be Greater
Be Yourself

One Goal, Don’t be a Jabroni!

— SnowBikeMike (@snowbikemike) November 23, 2020

Try using jabroni!

True or False?

Jabroni is believed to have come from an Italian word meaning “ham.”