z You may also see JDGÀ\ used
alongside its collocate, political,
as in the phrase a political
JDGÀ\. The Greek philosopher
Socrates was a self-described
JDGÀ\ TXHVWLRQLQJ WKH SROLWLFDO
VWDWHRI$WKHQV3ROLWLFDOJDGÀLHV
although bothersome to those
in power, serve the purpose of
keeping politicians on their toes.z Informal synonyms for JDGÀ\
include nag, pest, and thorn
in the side. Another wonderful
synonym for JDGÀ\ is a word
borrowed from Yiddish, QXGQLN,
meaning “a dull, boring pest.”Querulous (adjective)
Full of complaints; complaining in an annoyed way.z Querulous can be used to describe a person or his or her manner
or actions. For example: “Her normally positive teenage daughter
became querulous when she stayed up too late, complaining about
her teachers, her social life, and her siblings.”z English has a number of other excellent words to describe people
who show impatience or anger for no good reason, including
peevish, petulant, testy, and carping.
ż Use peevish to describe people who complain about petty or
trivial things.ż Use petulant to describe behavior like that of a spoiled child.ż Use the verb carp to emphasize particularly mean-spirited,
nasty criticizing or nitpicking.$FFRUGLQJWR3ODWR¶VApology,
6RFUDWHVVDZ$WKHQVDVDOD]\
horse that needed to be roused
E\KLVJDGÀ\VWLQJ© thegreekphotoholic/iStock/Thinkstock.