sourball

[souuhr-bawl, sou-er-]

noun

1. a round piece of hard candy with a tart or acid fruit flavoring.

2. Informal.,  a chronic grouch.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sourball¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; sour + ball ¹

Example Sentences

It’s an undemandingly enjoyable and reassuringly predictable dramedy in which nothing, not even the sourball attitudes of its comically unpleasant malcontents, ever is allowed to get out of hand or unduly strain credibility.”

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So how can anyone who likes green sourballs criticize me for preferring a nice penny loafer or a bedroom slipper?

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Among its choice lines: “The sourball of every revolution: after the revolution, who’s going to pick up the garbage on Monday morning?”

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When I was hospitalized in the early 1980s with an acute case of ulcerative colitis, the doctors tried to save my inflamed colon by throttling my diet down to ice chips and sourballs.

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"Oh, hush!" sobbed the giant, rolling his great sourball eyes.

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