# You freakin' nimrod **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 3, 1999, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-freakin-nimrod/4448 "1999-11-03T01:32:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 1999, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-freakin-nimrod/4448/1 "1999-11-03T01:32:00Z")
_“Cush was the father of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on the earth. He was a mighty warrior before the LORD; that is why it is said ‘Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.’”_ – Genesis 10:8-9 Why and when did Nimrod change from a mighty warrior/hunter to a stupid or foolish person? Any other reference to Nimrod in the Bible is making mention of Nimrod’s kingdom and how great it was. Is the slang term referring to something or someone else? Has being a great hunter gone out of vogue? Any info? * * * “I guess it is possible for one person to make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.” ---
**Author:** ![SirJoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f4b2a3/32.png) [@SirJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirJoe)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 1999, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-freakin-nimrod/4448/2 "1999-11-03T01:37:00Z")
I believe Nimrod can also be attributed to the drama masks 🙂 and ☹ * * * The ocean of liquor, I drank to forget her, is gonna kill me, but I’ll drink till then.- George Jones Still Doin Time ---
**Author:** ![Boris\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@Boris\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boris_B)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 1999, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-freakin-nimrod/4448/3 "1999-11-03T01:41:00Z")
I always thought it was sort of an illiterate’s idea of a really dirty word. “Huh, huh, he said Nimrod. Get it … Nim_rod_? Huh huh.” I don’t think there is any real biblical thinking involved. * * * Nothing I write about any person or group should be applied to a larger group. - Boris Badenov ---
**Author:** ![Akatsukami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea666f/32.png) [@Akatsukami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akatsukami)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 1999, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-freakin-nimrod/4448/4 "1999-11-03T02:33:00Z")
In, I think, certain midrashim, it is claimed that Nimrod attempted to kill Abraham. It is also noted in the Talmud (tractate _Sanhedrin_, IIRC), that Nimrod is only one of two hunters mentioned in the Torah. The transformation is probably along the lines of “Nimrod = cruel person = person too stupid to be _other_ than cruel = stupid person”. * * * “Kings die, and leave their crowns to their sons. Shmuel HaKatan took all the treasures in the world, and went away.” ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 1999, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-freakin-nimrod/4448/5 "1999-11-03T03:46:00Z")
Wasn’t this covered in another thread, and it was attributed to “Bugs Bunny?” Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![aseymayo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@aseymayo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aseymayo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 1999, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-freakin-nimrod/4448/6 "1999-11-03T08:54:00Z")
Instead of calling me names he could get in trouble for, my brother used to pick words from the dictionary to use as epithets. He chose words that sounded insulting regardless of the actual meaning. He called me “nimrod” and “pismire” (among others). I agree with Mr. Badenov - “nimrod” has come to mean “goofball” just for the sound of it. ---
**Author:** ![TheIncredibleHolg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@TheIncredibleHolg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheIncredibleHolg)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 1999, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-freakin-nimrod/4448/7 "1999-11-03T09:05:00Z")
The Bugs Bunny connection isn’t far off. Apparently, he didn’t coin the term, but he definitely popularized it: [http://www.randomhouse.com/jesse/?date=19990507](http://www.randomhouse.com/jesse/?date=19990507)[http://www.word-detective.com/current.html](http://www.word-detective.com/current.html) ---
**Author:** ![dfahs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@dfahs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dfahs)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 1999, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-freakin-nimrod/4448/8 "1999-11-03T17:10:00Z")
I was amused to see that further down on the word-detective page referenced above is a link back here to The Straight Dope! [http://www.word-detective.com/current.html#jakebrake](http://www.word-detective.com/current.html#jakebrake) ---
**Author:** ![KCB615](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 1999, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-freakin-nimrod/4448/9 "1999-11-03T17:22:00Z")
## IIRC, the British armed forces had an anti-submarine airplane called the Nimrod. I wouldn’t think someone would want to tell his friends “yeah, I drive a nimrod for a living,” but those Brits are a wacky crew 🙂 Jeremy… I can think of no more stirring symbol of man’s humanity to man than a fire engine - Kurt Vonnegut ---
**Author:** ![torq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@torq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torq)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 1999, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-freakin-nimrod/4448/10 "1999-11-03T23:22:00Z")
I tend to agree with those who believe that Nimrod is mostly just a victim of Unfortunate Name Syndrome. Because my job requires me to deal with people from lots of different countries I occasionally run across someone whose name is perfectly acceptable, possibly even distinguished, in their native language but resembles something funny or naughty in English… the best make-believe example I can think of is “Long Duc Dong” in “Sixteen Candles”. It happens to us, too: I know someone named “Mystic,” which sounds a lot like a German word meaning approximately “stinky.”