placemonger means one who traffics in appointments to places. It carries an Arena rating of 1333, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, placemonger ranks #1,245 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #1,985 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #2,817 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #4,373 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words.
Why “placemonger” is a great word
PLACEMONGER — [Noun] One who trades in appointments to official positions, treating public offices as private commodities. From *place* (meaning a position or office) + *monger* (from Old English *mangere*, "merchant, trader"), a suffix that carries a pejorative connotation of dealing in something trivial or disreputable. Unlike a "patron," who bestows favor from influence or benevolence, or a neutral "broker," who facilitates transactions, the placemonger is a grubby merchant of influence. It is the whispered recommendation in a smoke-filled anteroom, the greased palm that secures a clerk’s dull post, the ledger where public trust is tallied and sold—a testament to the bleak arithmetic by which so much of the world is quietly arranged.
Etymology
From place + monger.
noun
- One who traffics in appointments to places.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- slavemonger 67% match — A person who deals in slaves; a slaver, slavetrader. vs placemonger →
- powermonger 65% match — One who wields power in a tyrannical or irresponsible fashion. vs placemonger →
- wordmonger 65% match — A writer, speechmaker, etc. who uses superficial, strange, or empty language for show, pretentiously, or carelessly, often to the point of disregard for the meaning of words. vs placemonger →
- monger 64% match — Chiefly preceded by a descriptive word.; A dealer or trader in a specific commodity. vs placemonger →
- wondermonger 64% match — One who deals in wondrous things. vs placemonger →
- rumormonger 62% match — A person who spreads rumors. vs placemonger →
- lovemonger 62% match — A person who encourages or advocates love; one who deals in affairs of love. vs placemonger →
- fleshmonger 61% match — One who deals in flesh; hence, a pimp, procurer, or pander. vs placemonger →