Pipsqueak

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Grammarist

A pipsqueak is an insignificant person, usually small or young. Pipsqueak is a term of contempt. Slang synonyms are short round, and squirt.

Pipsqueak is an echoic word, which imitates a sound. Pipsqueak seems to have first appeared in the 1890s. It comes from the words pip, which refers to a small thing, and squeak, a word which signifies the sound that a small bird or animal makes under duress.

Pipsqueak is often used by children to refer to their younger siblings in a derogatory manner. The use of the word pipsqueak has risen steadily over the years.

Examples

Bounnak Thammavong and legions of pipsqueak assistants splattered paint onto a big aluminum goldfinch, which Metro Arts Alliance plans to install this fall above the baggage-claim area at the Des Moines airport. (The Des Moines Register)

Greece is an overrated pipsqueak, it accounts for exactly 2% of Europe’s GDP and it has wasted everybody’s time hitherto. (The Economic Times)

If Ennui and Schadenfreude didn’t make the final cut, there’s still plenty going on inside Riley’s head that is, well, not the stuff of typical pipsqueak fare. (The Houston Chronicle)

The Ocean City hammerhead is a pipsqueak compared with Mary Lee, the 16-foot-long great white shark that has caused a commotion up and down the Atlantic coast. (The Washington Post)

Weitering was the bulwark of a backline featuring Collins (whose build makes the Incredible Hulk look like a pipsqueak), Brandon White, Tom Glen, Sam Pickess and Lachie Batten, who cleaned up more spillages than a fireman. (The Herald Sun)

All hail Taylor Swift, whose transformation from pipsqueak pop princess to campaigning global superstar with the power to make greedy corporations quake is now complete. (The Irish Independent)

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