different between wacko vs whackjob

English

Alternative forms

• whacko

Etymology

wack(y) + -o.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?wæk??/
• Rhymes: -æk??

Adjective

wacko (comparative more wacko, superlative most wacko)

1. (informal) Amusingly eccentric or irrational.

   Synonyms: kooky, oddballish, pixilated; see also Thesaurus:eccentric

Translations

Noun

wacko (plural wackos or wackoes)

1. (informal) An amusingly eccentric or irrational person.

   Synonyms: kook, odd duck, weirdo; see also Thesaurus:strange person

Interjection

wacko

1. (Britain, dated) hurrah!

   Synonyms: get in, huzzah, woo hoo; see also Thesaurus:yay

Old High German

Etymology

Probably related to wegan (“to move, carry, bear”)

Noun

wacko ?

1. rock, boulder

Alternative forms

• waggo

Related terms

• wegan

English

Alternative forms

• wackjob
• whack job

Etymology

• whack(y) + job(bie)

Noun

whackjob (plural whackjobs)

1. (colloquial, derogatory) A crazy, possibly dangerous, person.
   • 1992: Elmore Leonard, Rum Punch

     "He called the guy who owns the gun shop a 'whackjob' and said he's going to take him down if it's the last thing he does."

   • 2003: Michael Graham, Redneck Nation: How the South Really Won the War

     One of America's most prominent Confederistas is Michael Hill, head whackjob at the looney League of the South—an obscure organization that has already declared southern cultural independence.

   • 2004: Mark. St. Amant, Committed: Confessions of a Fantasy Football Junkie

     Ronald Reagan took his oath as the fortieth president in American history and, three months later, took a bullet from some wackjob trying to impress the future star of The Silence of the Lambs.

Synonyms

• (crazy, possibly dangerous person): basket case, freak, loony, nutjob, nutter, screwball, wacko, wingnut