Everyday · Work & business · Humour & insults
Jobsworth: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Jobsworth noun. An official who sticks rigidly to petty rules and refuses any flexibility.
How to say it
JOBZ-wurth/ˈdʒɒbzwɜːθ/
2 syllables, stressed on the first (JOBZ).
Jobsworth in a sentence
Some jobsworth at the gate wouldn’t let us in because our tickets were printed in colour.
Don’t be a jobsworth: let the poor man park for two minutes.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- stickler
- bureaucrat
- pedant
Where jobsworth comes from
British, from the 1970s, after the excuse “it’s more than my job’s worth”.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
Don’t be a _____: let the poor man park for two minutes.
- pooh-bah
- jobsworth
- presenteeism
Show the answer
jobsworth: Don’t be a jobsworth: let the poor man park for two minutes.