Mencken

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The surname of Henry Louis Mencken, an influential American journalist, critic and satirist known for his witty commentary on politics and culture
2. An American writer and editor famous for his sharp, irreverent essays and his scorn for public hypocrisy and pretension in the early twentieth century
3. Name of a celebrated American newspaperman and social critic who wrote biting commentary on democracy, religion and American middle-class life

Etymology: The word is named for H. L. Mencken, the American journalist and critic (1880-1956), whose sharp essays on American politics, religion and middle-class manners made him one of the most influential writers of his era. Mencken was also a great coiner of phrases, and the word follows that pattern: it is simply his surname, used as a common noun for a writer or thinker in the same mould. Because it is a proper name turned into a noun, it has no older history of its own. Its meaning rests entirely on the reputation of the man who gave it, which is why it is most often heard in literary and journalistic circles rather than in everyday speech.