Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Word of the Day

hector \HEK-tur\, noun:

1. A bully.
2. To intimidate or harass in a blustering way; to bully.
3. To play the bully; to bluster.

At both ends of the escalators, attendants . . . hector and berate any passenger who steps out of line.
-- Jeffrey Tayler, "A Means of Transport", The Atlantic, February 1998
. . .salespersons who glom onto you and relentlessly hector you until you buy a service agreement.
-- Dave Barry, "Service Calls", Washington Post, September 2, 2001

Hector derives from Greek Hektor, in Greek mythology the chief Trojan warrior and the eldest son of Priam, King of Troy.

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