Pissant (insect): Difference between revisions

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A '''pissant''', also seen as ''piss-ant'' and ''piss ant'', is one or the other of two specific types of [[ant]]. The word can also refer to an inconsequential, irrelevant, or worthless person, especially one who is irritating or contemptible out of proportion to his significance. Its origin is with ''pismire'', a 14th-century word for ant. [http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19990331][http://thenightwriterblog.powerblogs.com/posts/1152500340.shtml]
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The original ''pissant'' is any of a certain group of large ant species, commonly called ''wood ants,'' that make [http://vinsonlab.tamu.edu/former/john/formica.htm mounded nests] in British and European forests. The ''pissant'' name arises from the urine-like odor produced by their nesting material—pine straw and pine needles—and the [[formic acid]] that constitutes their venom.[http://www.takeourword.com/Issue102.html#Spotlight] ''[[Formica rufa]]'' is one such ant, but there are others with similar characteristics.  
'''Pissant''' means a thing that is inconsequential, irrelevant, or worthless, and that is contemptible out of proportion to its significance. In conversations with his advisors during the [[Vietnam War]], U.S president [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] often referred to [[Vietnam]] as "that damn piss-ant little country."


In the United States, the word pissant can refer to any small ant that infests a home.[http://www.pestproducts.com/pissant.htm]
The original ''pissant'' is any of a certain group of large ant species, commonly called ''wood ants,'' that make mounded nests in British and European forests. The ''pissant'' name arises from the urine-like odor produced by their nesting material—pine straw and pine needles—and the [[formic acid]] that constitutes their venom. ''Formica rufa'' is one such ant, but there are others with similar characteristics.


In conversations with his advisors during the [[Vietnam War]], U.S president [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] often referred to [[Vietnam]] as "that damn piss-ant little country."[http://www.vva.org/TheVeteran/2001_01/rendezvous.htm][http://www.johnkennethgalbraith.com/index.php?page=press&display=32&from=0] The word is used by lesser public figures as well: a Virginia politician once silenced a heckler by saying "I'm a big dog on a big hunt and I don't have time for a piss-ant on a melon stalk."[http://www.law.uoregon.edu/faculty/gepps/docs/unclebilly.html]
In the United States, the word pissant can refer to any small ant that infests a home.<ref>[http://www.pestproducts.com/pissant.htm How to Get Rid of Piss Ants in the House or Yard]</ref>[[Category:Suggestion Bot Tag]]
 
==External links==
*[http://www.bhikku.net/2005/01/08.html 17th century drawing of a ''pismire''/pissant]
 
[[Category:CZ Live]]

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Pissant means a thing that is inconsequential, irrelevant, or worthless, and that is contemptible out of proportion to its significance. In conversations with his advisors during the Vietnam War, U.S president Lyndon B. Johnson often referred to Vietnam as "that damn piss-ant little country."

The original pissant is any of a certain group of large ant species, commonly called wood ants, that make mounded nests in British and European forests. The pissant name arises from the urine-like odor produced by their nesting material—pine straw and pine needles—and the formic acid that constitutes their venom. Formica rufa is one such ant, but there are others with similar characteristics.

In the United States, the word pissant can refer to any small ant that infests a home.[1]

  1. ↑ How to Get Rid of Piss Ants in the House or Yard
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