Hunting the Snark

[Marmora Man]

Heard today on Radio 4 a new verb: Snark.

Snarking: to make derogatory comments about something or someone (normally a celebrity), in a blog.

Do you "Snark" - does the EDF "Snark". Should we? Who is the worst "Snarker"?

[????]

Piers Morgan is a ****

[Mikecg]

Peirs Morgan is a Complete and total one.

[woofmarkthedog]

Yes W****R

WOOFSNARKTHEDOG

[HonaloochieB]

It's been around a while MM. I think I first read it in the NME or possibly Smash Hits.

I always took it to be a combination of 'snide' and 'sarcastic'.

[giggirl]

Am I barking up the wrong thread or wasn't it a book by Mervyn Peake or Lewis Carroll? A verb now, you say. Would you conjugate it for me?

[Siduhe]

See also "snerk" or "snerky" - meaning somewhere between a sneer and a smirk. Also used as a verb and/or adverb for reasons which I don't quite follow...

[Asset]

I snark

You snark

He snarks

She snarks

They snark

[Huguenot]

After much consideration of the evidence...

Snark (as with sneer or snerk) seems as much to do with the physical expression of distaste as it does any other words.

The 'sn...' is associated with a reaction to a bitter or inedible food, and difficult to do without an Elvis impersonation.

The '...ark' sound is associated with vigorously expelling unwanted matter and clearing the gullet.

For me the most persuasive root of the word is from 'nark' meaning unwanted interference or annoyance, which was a nineteenth century alternative spelling of the gypsy work 'nak' meaning nose. As in 'you nosy git'.

As with most abusive terms, it's lost its original meaning quite quickly because most people aren't especially grammatically rigid when they're being rude.

[red devil]

Recalling the classic 70's sitcom Porridge , 'Nark' was(is?) often used as slang for a police/prison warder informer;

you can also be 'narked off' - in a bad mood...

[Asset]

'Nark' is from 'narcotics officer' as in Norbert the Nark from the Furry Freak Bros. (misspent youth)

[macroban]

> 'Nark' is from 'narcotics officer' as in Norbert the Nark from the Furry Freak Bros. (misspent youth)

That's a crumby citation.

The OED has the etymology from "nak" - the Romany for "nose". The earliest citation of usage is 1860.