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A.Word.A.Day--mopery

mopery (MO-puh-ree) noun

1. Violation of a trivial or imaginary law, for example, loitering, used to arrest someone when no other crime can be charged.

2. Mopish behavior: to have pouted face, be gloomy or disappointed.

[From mope, from mop, of uncertain origin.]

"The bleakest moment came when Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon indulged in fatuous mopery, and compounded their crime by causing four Chopin studies to be played at the same time." Clement Crisp; Sadler's Wells; Financial Times (London, UK); Feb 25, 2004.

This week's theme: slang.

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