Buttonholed

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To grab hold of someone unexpectedly to engage them in conversation
2. To detain a person by holding them firmly in order to talk to them
3. To catch and keep someone's attention by stopping them for a discussion

Etymology: "Buttonholed" is the past tense of "buttonhole," used here in its sense of stopping someone to talk at length, often against their wishes. The verb grew out of the noun for the slit in a garment that a button passes through. That noun was once "buttonhold," a loop of string used to hold a button in place, and the word was reshaped by folk etymology under the influence of "hole," so that it looked like a button placed in a hole. The original noun was therefore a fastening device rather than an opening. The verb's sense of cornering someone followed from the noun's idea of catching hold of a person as one would catch a button. Once you see the connection, the metaphor is simple: the talker grabs hold of you the way a loop of string grips a button. The word's history shows a sensible image hiding behind a spelling change.

Synonyms: interrupted, cornered, detained, stopped, held

Antonyms: released, let go, freed, dismissed