Pronounced: ex-SPUR-juh-fak-shun, noun
Notes: A long word for a common thing
Yesterday’s word
The word scofflaw is “a contemptuous law violator”
First usage
This word goes back to the 1920s
Background / Comments
A wealthy Prohibitionist sponsored a contest in the 1920s to create a word to mean “a lawless drinker” (he wanted a word to cast shame on Prohibition lawbreakers). Two people independently came up with our word, and split the cash prize. Language experts didn’t think much of the word, but it caught on, eventually expanding beyond its Prohibition roots to the present meaning.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 