shtinker means collaborator; traitor; informer. It carries an Arena rating of 1382, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, shtinker ranks #1,066 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #1,336 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #1,367 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #2,437 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound.
Why “shtinker” is a great word
One who betrays the trust of a close-knit community, acting as a covert informer or collaborator. From Yiddish שטינקער (shtinker), literally 'stinker', a figurative extension of the agent noun from shtinken 'to stink'. Unlike an 'informant' (a neutral, often official designation) or a 'defector' (whose ideological turn is usually public), a shtinker operates in the intimate shadows, a poison in the well. It is the whispered conversation in the alley that leads to a dawn arrest, the falsified ledger that ruins a family, the Judas not of grand principle but of petty spite or fear—the betrayal that leaves a communal home forever colder and less safe.
Etymology
From Yiddish שטינקער (shtinker).
noun
- collaborator; traitor; informer
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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