twits

Noun (1)

twit (plural twits)

1. A jibe, reproach, or taunt, especially one made in a good-natured or teasing manner.
   • [T]he ſayd Thomas Hilles & this Reſpondent ſhevvyd the Frear Barons of certayne old Bookes that they had: as of iiij Evangeliſtes, and certayne Epiſtles of Peter & Poule in Engliſhe. VVhich Bookes the ſayd Frear dyd litle regard, and made a tvvyte of it, & ſayd, A poynt for them, for they be not to...1528 May 7 (date written; Gregorian calendar), John Strype, “[Appendix: […].] Numb[er] XVII. The Confession of John Tyball a Lollard; Charges with Heresy.”, in Ecclesiastical Memorials; Relating...
2. (informal) An annoying or foolish person.
   • What do you mean, since when did I become such a radical fairy! […] Since I started knowing twits like you, you twit!1988 (date written), Larry Kramer, Just Say No: A Play about a Farce, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, published 1989, →ISBN, Act II, page 66

   Synonyms:

   alcatote, asshat, arsehole, asshole, bayard, berk, birdbrain, blither, bobchin, bonehead

3. (Ireland, UK, archaic, dialectal) A person who chatters or gossips inanely; a chatterer, a gossip or gossiper; also, a person who divulges private information about others or is indiscreet; a tattletale.
   • Young Strephon he has Woo'd me long, / And Courted me with Pipe and Song; / But I a silly, silly peevish Twit, / For want of Sense, for want of Wit, / Have phoo'd, and cry'd, / Have pish'd, and fy'd, / And play'd the fool, and lost my Time, / And almost slipp'd, and almost slipp'd, / And almost...1720, Thomas d’Urfey, compiler, “A Song. Set by Mr. Henry Purcell.”, in Wit and Mirth: Or Pills to Purge Melancholy; […], volume VI, London: […] W. Pearson, for J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1720...

   Synonyms:

   carrytale, blab, blabbermouth, blabtale, blabtongue, busybody, buzzer, gossip, gossiper, gossipmonger

Noun (2)

twit (plural twits)

1. A short, high-pitched call of a small bird, or a similar sound made by something else; a cheep, a chirp, a tweet.
   • The minutes seem'd hours—with impatience she heard / The flap of a leaf, and the twit of a bird; […]1820, John Clare, “[Sonnets.] Crazy Nell. A True Story.”, in Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery, London: […] [T. Miller] for Taylor and Hessey, […]; and E[dward] Drury, […], →OCLC, page 210

Noun (3)

twit (plural twits)

1. (US, informal) Chiefly in the form in a twit: clipping of twitter (“a state of excitement or nervousness”).

See all 12 meanings of twit