jobsworth means A person who upholds trivial rules unnecessarily and obstructively in order to exercise their (typically minor) authority. It carries an Arena rating of 1533, earned across 11 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, jobsworth ranks #696 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,989 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #2,131 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #2,851 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words.
jobsworth is pronounced /ˈd͡ʒɒbzwɜːθ/.
Why “jobsworth” is a great word
A petty official who obstructively insists on adherence to trivial rules, deriving power from a sullen refusal to exercise discretion. The term originates from the English defensive phrase 'it's more than my job's worth,' popularized in the UK by Jeremy Taylor's 1973 song 'Jobsworth' and the BBC television series *That's Life!* (1973–1994), which featured a 'Jobsworth of the Week' award. Unlike a bureaucrat, a neutral term for a functionary, or a stickler, who may enforce standards from principle, a jobsworth is defined by the relish of wielding minor authority as an absolute barrier. He is the guard who locks the gate five minutes after opening time, the clerk who rejects a form for using blue instead of black ink, the voice on the phone that denies the exception which would cost nothing to grant. In him, the smallest dominion becomes an empire, and the letter of the law suffocates its spirit with bureaucratic glee.
Etymology
A compound of job + -s- + worth, derived from the phrase “It’s more than me job’s worth” or “... my job’s worth” as used in denial of a request by a functionary, chiefly popularized by Jeremy Taylor's 1973 song “Jobsworth” and the 1973–1994 BBC television series That’s Life! which focused on consumer affairs and gave a “Jobsworth of the Week” award to “a startling tale of going by the book”.
noun
- A person who upholds trivial rules unnecessarily and obstructively in order to exercise their (typically minor) authority.e.g.“The usual council jobsworths came down to tell them to stop playing football.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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