muckworm

American  

[muhk-wurm] / ˈmʌkˌwɜrm /

noun

1. (not in technical use) the larva of any of several insects, as the dung beetle, which lives in or beneath manure.

2. a miser.

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muckworm British  

/ ˈmʌkˌwɜːm /

noun

1. any larva or worm that lives in mud

2. informal a miser

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Etymology

Origin of muckworm

First recorded in 1590–1600; muck + worm

Example Sentences

The "muckworm" Cottington, as Browning calls him, suggested the sentence which was carried out.

From Browning's England A Study in English Influences in Browning by Clarke, Helen Archibald

The muckworm is no longer a creeping thing; it rears its head aloft, and makes the haughty borough-lords sneak about in holes and corners.'...

From Letters of David Ricardo to Thomas Robert Malthus, 1810-1823 by Ricardo, David

If the Old Lord Chatham were now alive, he would speak with respect of the muckworm, as he called the 'Change Alley people.

From Letters of David Ricardo to Thomas Robert Malthus, 1810-1823 by Ricardo, David

If my conjectures are right, the threats of the old muckworm father have shaken the crazy nerves of the baronet; and I half suspect there is something more of meaning at the bottom of this.

From Anna St. Ives by Holcroft, Thomas

I am sick To think her wretched masters, Hamilton, The muckworm Cottington, the maniac Laud, May yet be longed-for back again.

From Browning's England A Study in English Influences in Browning by Clarke, Helen Archibald