kibitzer
Americannoun
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a spectator at a card game who looks at the players' cards over their shoulders, especially one who gives unsolicited advice.
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a giver of uninvited or unwanted advice.
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a person who jokes, chitchats, or makes wisecracks, especially while others are trying to work or to discuss something seriously.
Etymology
Origin of kibitzer
First recorded in 1925–30; from Yiddish kibitser; see origin at kibitz, -er 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“I found him to be a kibitzer, who liked to joke around with the guys, but had no serious interest in pursuing ideas and arguments,” Pinker said.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 17, 2019
He’s also a grade-A kibitzer, a gregarious character, whose chatty and self-effacing wit bespeaks his Queens upbringing and Eastern European-Jewish heritage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2016
This means a president, like a candidate, must be highly skeptical of the kibitzer.
From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2012
A kibitzer asked Gray if he would have doubled.
From New York Times ● Sep. 3, 2010
Tonight he was no Sunday supplement kibitzer taking a joy ride amidst men rehearsing for death.
From The Five Arrows by Chase, Allan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
