Why “curmudgeonry” is a great word
The practice or characteristic conduct of a surly, ill-tempered, habitually grumpy person. From curmudgeon (origin uncertain, perhaps from Middle English *curmudgeon*, a churlish person) + -ry (suffix forming nouns denoting a condition, practice, or art). Unlike irascibility, which suggests a quick-flaring temper, or misanthropy, which professes a contempt for humanity, curmudgeonry is a cultivated, chronic churlishness—a personality worn smooth and hard by its own persistent friction. It is the art of finding the draft in every room, the flaw in every gift, and the stupidity in every new idea; a lifelong performance of dissatisfaction that becomes, in its relentless consistency, a perverse and quiet kind of integrity.