caveman

Noun

caveman (plural cavemen)

1. An early human or closely related species, popularly held to reside in caves.
   • The political cartoon showed the politician as a caveman, clubbing the budget depicted as a mammoth.
   • CAVEMAN DIET
     The creators of this nutrition plan believe that cavemen and cavewomen were lean and healthy because of the all-natural foods they ate.2006, Harley Pasternak, The 5 Factor Diet, page 15

   Synonyms:

   hominid, hominin, Neanderthal, troglodyte

2. (derogatory, figuratively, informal) A person with backward, primitive behavior, opinions, or interests.
   • You think your Caveman is always chasing you for sex. Well, he is.2008, David E. Clarke, Cinderella Meets the Caveman: Stop the Boredom in Your Marriage and Jump, page 159
   1. (derogatory, figuratively, informal) A brutish person, one who behaves in a rough, uncivilized way.
      • The football squad was made up of cavemen who were responsible for trashing many a locker room.
      • "Bless you, he would think nothing of throwing you downstairs if you have a disagreement. He is a primitive cave-man in a lounge suit. I can see him with a club in one hand and a jagged bit of flint in the other."1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, When the World Screamed
   2. (derogatory, figuratively, informal) Someone, especially a man, who has regressive, old-fashioned attitudes, particularly with regard to women; someone opposed to change or modernity.
      • Old Sven is a bit of a caveman; he figures giving women the right to vote was a bad idea.
      • Pat is a real caveman when it comes to tech, and refuses to get a smartphone.