mossback

[ maws-bak, mos- ]

/ ˈmɔsˌbæk, ˈmɒs- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mossback ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Informal.

a person holding very antiquated notions; reactionary.
a person living in the backwoods; rustic.

an old turtle.

Angling. a large and old fish, as a bass.

a wild bull or cow.

Nearby words

moss rose, moss stitch, moss-grown, mossad, mossadegh, mossback, mossbunker, mossi, mossie, mosso, mossoró

Origin of mossback

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75; moss + back¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mossback

There is the "old" farmer, there is the "new" farmer, and there is the "mossback."
Chapters in Rural Progress|Kenyon L. Butterfield
The mossback cannot win, because he prefers a flintlock to a Mauser.
Chapters in Rural Progress|Kenyon L. Butterfield
The mossback was wide awake now, and he muttered something about "another of those pesky porkies."
Forest Neighbors|William Davenport Hulbert
Fig. 239 shows a mossback's house or cabin in the lake lands of Canada.
Shelters, Shacks and Shanties|D.C. Beard

I also have sympathy for the mossback particularly because he is the man that needs attention.
Chapters in Rural Progress|Kenyon L. Butterfield

British Dictionary definitions for mossback

mossback

/ (ˈmɒsˌbæk) /

noun US and Canadian

an old turtle, shellfish, etc, that has a growth of algae on its back

informal a provincial or conservative person

Derived Forms

mossbacked, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012