‘On Language’ 4/19 - ‘Gawkers’ cause traffic jams and etymology puzzles
Crash course: We often look down upon those who `gawk’
‘On Language‘
Chicago Tribune
April 19, 2006
By Nathan Bierma
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We are despicable people. We are the people who slow down when passing through the scene of an accident, trying to get a good look at the wreck. I do it. You do it. We all do it.
Traffic reporters have a word for us. We’re “gawkers.”
A gawker is an uninvited spectator. And that’s putting it nicely. Merriam-Webster defines the verb “gawk” as “to gape or stare stupidly.” A Google search for the term “traffic accident gawker” turns up a personal ad on a Web site in Louisville that includes “traffic accident gawkers” in the category of “things that turn me off,” between “religious freaks” and “smelly people.”
But though “gawker” may seem like a loaded term, it isn’t just slang or a put-down; it’s used as a neutral description of passing motorists in news and government reports.
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